North Carolina stratagem

English edit

(law, US) A legal tactic in court proceedings, intended to place the opponent on to the wrong foot by unethical use of court procedures:
- "They [judges] are awake to what is called the 'North Carolina stratagem', whereby an application is made, late on Friday with a thick pile of affidavits, to a judge unfamiliar with an area of law in the hope that the judge will grant the injunction sought out of caution".

Lewis & Kyrou's Handy Hints on Legal Practice, 3rd ed. 2004, chapter 34: "Court Etiquette", at [34.110] (p 279). →ISBN