amicus

noun

ami·​cus ə-ˈmē-kəs  -ˈmī- 

plural amici ə-ˈmē-ˌkē 

-ˈmī-ˌsī

: someone (such as a professional person) or something (such as an organization) that is not a party to a particular case but that is allowed by the court upon petition or by the court's request to advise it in respect to some matter of law that directly affects the case in question : amicus curiae

I'd like to urge you to begin thinking about filing a brief as amicus in this case.

—Jonathan Mahler

… Mr. Benkard recently had joined in an … amicus brief seeking overturn of a U.S. Claims Court judgement …

—The National Law Journal

Two dozen prominent law professors and economists called attention to this problem in an amicus brief submitted to the FTC's administrative tribunal.

—Rachel Chiu

Examples of amicus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An amicus brief, a legal document filed by a party not directly involved in the case, can be treated as a game-changer, be ignored altogether or fall somewhere in between. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Oct. 2026

His comments come after the NFL filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Thursday, which supported New Jersey regulators and asserted that sports contracts on prediction markets fall under gambling and not financial swaps. — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026

When a lobbyist for former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar — an electoral opponent of Tinubu — filed an amicus brief, Greenspan sought to make clear that the two were not working together. — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026

In an amicus brief filed in support of a September petition by the New Jersey attorney general's office, the NFL expressed support for prior court rulings favoring state regulation of prediction markets. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing amicus

• amicus curiae

Legal Definition

amicus

noun

ami·​cus ə-ˈmē-kəs, -ˈmī- 

plural amici -ˈmē-ˌkē, -ˈmī-ˌsī 

: amicus curiae