Adjournmentsine die(fromLatin"without a day" ) is the conclusion of a meeting by adeliberative assembly,such as alegislatureor organizational board, without setting a day to reconvene.[1]The assembly can reconvene, either in its present form or a reconstituted form, if preexisting laws and rules provide for this. Otherwise the adjournment effectively dissolves the assembly.[2]
Acourtmay also adjourn a mattersine die,which means that the matter isstayeduntil further notice. In asine dieadjournment of this type, the hearing stands open indefinitely, and could theoretically be resumed if the situation changed.[3]For example, a case may be adjournedsine dieif there is no possibility of proceeding in the foreseeable future, such as when the defendant is in prison and cannot participate in legal proceedings.[citation needed]
United States usage
editTheCongress of the United Statescustomarily adjourns a sessionsine dieon the morning of January 3, immediately before the next session holds its constitutionally mandated first meeting. It can also adjournsine dieat other times through aconcurrent resolutionthat allows theSpeaker of the HouseandSenate Majority Leaderto resume the session.[4]
State legislatures follow suit mark adjournmentsine diewith a ceremony, such as theConnecticut General Assemblywherein, on the final day of thelegislative session,the House and Senate meet in a joint convention, and theSecretary of the Staterecites“Oyez, Oyez, Oyez,”pounds the gavel, and declares the legislature adjournedsine die.[5][6]
In theFlorida Legislature,the sergeants-at-arms of theFlorida Senateand theFlorida House of Representativesstep outside their chambers each holding a handkerchief. When they meet in between the chambers, they both drop the handkerchiefs, signifying the end of the legislative session.[7][8]
Similarly, theTexas Legislatureallows members' families to be in the respective chambers. Under both the House and Senate rules, the onlysubstantivematters which can be heard are resolutions making technical corrections to legislation already passed; otherwise, the only other matters which can be heard are congratulatory and memorial resolutions, and other honorary items (such as a caucus deciding on informal awards).
References
edit- ^Sine dieWebster's New World College Dictionary, Retrieved July 18th, 2009
- ^Robert, Henry M.; et al. (2011).Robert's Rules of OrderNewly Revised(11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press. p. 83.ISBN978-0-306-82020-5.
- ^Glossary - Latin Terms: Sine DieArchived2010-06-29 at theWayback MachineHer Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, Retrieved May 16, 2011
- ^"Adjournment sine die",US Senate Glossary, Retrieved July 18, 2009
- ^"Session Scheduling Rules".Connecticut General Assembly.
- ^Lohman, Judith (April 20, 2004)."Sine Die Adjournment Ceremonies".Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research.
- ^Dughi, Don (1979)."Sine Die Handkerchief Ceremony-Florida State Capitol".Florida State Library and Archives.
- ^"Tallahassee not only capitol with 'sine die' traditions - Florida Politics".floridapolitics.com.RetrievedSeptember 26,2017.