Definition
A procedural command requiring a party to appear before a court and present reasons why a proposed or provisional order, judgment, rule, or other action should not be confirmed, take effect, or be executed. "Show cause" appears most often as a directive embedded in an order to show cause — a court-issued document setting a date and requiring a named party to appear and offer legal justification against a pending action. If the party fails to appear, or fails to present sufficient reasons, the court typically makes the provisional relief permanent or confirms the challenged action.
The phrase functions as both a command (the court telling a party what to do) and a procedural posture (the party's obligation to affirmatively argue against something already in motion). The burden falls on the respondent: the court has already indicated a direction; the party must give it reason to change course.
Common Language
Wiktionary: "In English law, to argue against the confirmation of a provisional order or judgment."
No Webster's 1913 entry exists for this phrase as a common-language term. "Show" and "cause" carry their ordinary English meanings independently, but the legal compound is a term of art with no meaningful counterpart in everyday speech. Wiktionary's definition is accurate as far as it goes but omits the procedural mechanics — the court-set deadline, the nisi context, and the consequence of failing to respond — that make "show cause" a distinct procedural posture rather than mere argument.
Common Confusion
SHOW CAUSE vs. PROBABLE CAUSE: The word "cause" appears in both terms but means entirely different things. In show cause, "cause" means reason or justification — a party must present cause (grounds) why an order should not stand. Probable cause refers to the evidentiary standard required for arrests, searches, and certain warrants. The terms share no procedural relationship.
SHOW CAUSE ORDER vs. RULE NISI: These concepts are closely linked but not identical. A rule nisi is a provisional ruling that takes effect unless cause is shown against it — show cause is the mechanism for contesting it. In historical practice the terms were functionally intertwined. Modern American practice more commonly uses "order to show cause" without invoking the Latin form, but researchers in older sources will encounter both and must understand the connection.
Core Elements
For a show cause proceeding to be properly constituted, several elements are typically present:
1. A provisional or proposed court action. The mechanism presupposes something already in motion — an order, decree, rule nisi, injunction, or similar relief — that has not yet been made final.
2. Court-issued directive with a return date. The order to show cause specifies when and where the respondent must appear. Failure to appear typically results in the provisional action being confirmed by default.
3. Respondent's burden to argue affirmatively. The party opposing the action bears the obligation to present reasons. The court has already indicated a tentative direction; silence is treated as concession.
4. Court's determination. After hearing, the court either confirms the original action, modifies it, or discharges it based on the cause shown.
Why It Matters in Research
Show cause is a procedural mechanism, not a substantive doctrine, which means it appears across nearly every area of law — family law (contempt and custody modification), civil practice (injunctions and enforcement), administrative law (agency orders), and criminal procedure (bail and probation revocation). Researchers who encounter "show cause" must look past the label to identify the underlying substantive issue at stake.
Terminological variation across time is a significant trap. In English equity practice and early American courts, the show cause mechanism was inseparable from nisi prius procedure and the rule nisi. Historical sources use these terms interchangeably or as a compound system. Modern American sources have largely stripped out the Latin scaffolding, so researchers moving between historical and contemporary materials must mentally translate between the frameworks.
Jurisdictionally, the procedural rules governing orders to show cause — how they are served, what the return period must be, and what standards apply — vary considerably by state and federal court. An order to show cause in New York practice (where it is a primary vehicle for emergency injunctive relief) operates differently in local custom and rule than the equivalent mechanism in federal court or in courts of other states.
In the Law Mind corpus, show cause proceedings surface in equity and injunction materials, contempt discussions, administrative enforcement sequences, and any procedural context where a court grants provisional relief pending a hearing. Do not expect it to appear only under its own heading — it is embedded throughout procedural discussions under other terms.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's first and second editions are in close agreement, nearly word-for-word: showing cause means appearing as directed and presenting "such reasons and considerations as one has to offer" why an order should not be confirmed, take effect, or be executed. Both editions cite Kent's Commentaries for support. Rapalje & Lawrence frames the same concept from the respondent's perspective — the person who "appears before the court and contends that it should not be allowed to take effect" is the one said to show cause.
All three sources embed show cause within the nisi framework, reflecting its equity court origins. This is historically accurate but undersells the breadth of modern application: show cause orders are now routine in law courts and statutory proceedings entirely outside the equity tradition. Historical dictionaries also omit any treatment of the respondent's consequence for failing to appear — an omission that matters considerably in practice. Wiktionary's definition aligns with the historical sources but similarly focuses on English law origins rather than American procedural adaptation.
Jurisdictional Note
American federal courts and state courts have developed varying procedural rules governing orders to show cause, particularly around service requirements, the length of the return period, and whether an ex parte application is needed before the order issues. New York state practice makes especially heavy use of the order to show cause as the standard vehicle for emergency injunctions. Researchers should identify the governing procedural rules for the specific jurisdiction before drawing conclusions from general or historical descriptions.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
criminal_145: Fourth Amendment — Probable Cause (The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia) — relevant only to distinguish show cause from probable cause, as noted above; not substantively connected.