Also known as: good cause · good cause shown
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A justification sufficient to excuse noncompliance with a procedural deadline or requirement or to permit modification of a schedule or other order.
Fabian Flynn served interrogatories on Franklin Foundry. The foundry responded with answers but omitted any objection to one question about supplier contracts. Three weeks later the foundry sought to add a relevance objection. The court refused because the objection had not been stated with specificity in a timely response and no justification for the delay was offered.
Felipe Figueroa was indicted for arson. He entered a not-guilty plea on March 1 but filed no written notice of an insanity defense. On March 18 he moved for leave to file the notice after obtaining new psychiatric records. The court granted the motion because the recent records supplied a sufficient justification for the delay.
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Faith Fitzgerald offered a witness statement under the residual exception at trial. She had not given written notice before trial. The court admitted the statement after finding that the proponent's sudden discovery of the declarant's hospitalization supplied a sufficient justification for the lack of earlier notice.
Francesca Fowler was charged with fraud. She missed the pretrial-motion deadline for filing written notice of an insanity defense. After new medical records surfaced she moved for leave to file late. The court permitted the late filing and granted the government additional preparation time because the newly obtained records constituted a sufficient justification.
Falcon Dynamics asked the court to appoint Faye Fuller to represent an indigent defendant in a complex contract case. Fuller sought to decline the appointment because the matter would require extensive travel. The court denied the request because the asserted burden did not rise to a sufficient justification under the professional-conduct rule.
Flagship Logistics retained Felicity French in a divorce proceeding. After the client became unable to pay French moved to withdraw. The court denied the motion because withdrawal would leave the client without counsel in an ongoing complex matter and the asserted financial difficulty did not constitute a sufficient justification.
A party must demonstrate a justification that explains why the deadline was missed and why relief is warranted. Courts consider factors such as diligence, the reason for delay, and prejudice to the opposing party. The phrase supplies the standard that permits the court to excuse the failure rather than impose waiver or preclusion.
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Newly discovered evidence can support a finding when it was not reasonably available earlier and directly explains the delay. The court still weighs the justification against any prejudice to the government and may grant additional preparation time rather than automatically allowing the late filing.
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Financial burden may constitute a sufficient justification only when it rises to an unreasonable level. The rule lists specific examples of good cause and requires the lawyer to show more than ordinary inconvenience before the court will permit avoidance of the appointment.
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The rule requires written notice before trial unless the court finds a justification for the lack of earlier notice. When the proponent offers a sufficient justification the court may admit the statement during trial provided the adverse party still receives a fair opportunity to meet it.
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…[in Sherbert and Thomas ] provided that a person was not eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if, ‘without good cause,’ he had quit work or refused available work. The ‘good cause’ standard created a mechanism for individualized exemptions.” Bowen v. Roy, supra , at 708 (opinion of Burger, C. J., joined…