Coram nobis

A writ of coram nobis (also writ of error coram nobis, writ of coram vobis, or writ of error coram vobis) is a legal order allowing a court to correct its original judgment upon discovery of a fundamental error that did not appear in the records of the original judgment's proceedings and that would have prevented the judgment from being pronounced.

In the United Kingdom, the common law writ is superseded by the Common Law Procedure Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 76) and the Criminal Appeal Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7. c. 23).

The writ survives in the United States in federal courts, in the courts of sixteen states, and the District of Columbia courts. Each state has its own coram nobis procedures. A writ of coram nobis can be granted only by the court where the original judgment was entered, so those seeking to correct a judgment must understand the criteria required for that jurisdiction.