A motion to vacate is a formal proposal, either to 'vacate' (or reverse) the decision in a matter which had previously been formally ruled upon or decided, or to replace the holder of a presiding position.

Legal use

In the legal context, a motion to vacate is a formal request to overturn a court's earlier judgment, order, or sentence. This typically involves an attorney filing a written

legal motion In United States law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. It is a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrati ...

for consideration by a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Parliamentary use

In a parliamentary context, as used in a

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

, a motion to vacate is made by a member of the body to propose that the presiding officer (or 'chair') step down. That is commonly referred to as a "motion to vacate the chair".

In the U.S. House of Representatives

The use of a motion to vacate the chair has been very rare in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, despite the fact that under House rules it is considered a

privileged motion In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. Such motions, and the form they take are specified by the deliberate assembly and/or a pre-agreed volume detaili ...

, meaning any Member can offer such a motion at any time and is subject to an immediate vote. However, in the 116th and

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

, under amendments made to the House rules, motions to vacate were not privileged "except if offered by direction of a party caucus or conference". A motion to vacate the chair has been attempted twice in the House of Representatives: in March 1910 and in July 2015. The first attempt was to remove Speaker Joe Cannon, but the motion failed following a 192—155 vote. The 2015 motion, filed by

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th c ...

to vacate the speakership of

John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...

, was non-privileged and was referred to the Rules Committee instead of triggering an immediate floor vote. The motion, however, contributed to the eventual resignation of Boehner in September 2015.

References

{{reflist Common law legal terminology American legal terminology Legal motions

Legal use

Parliamentary use

In the U.S. House of Representatives

See also

References