Legal Definitions - ampliatio

Definition: Ampliatio (am-plee-ay-shee-oh) is a term from Roman law that refers to two things:

1. The act of deferring or reserving judgment.
2. In a criminal trial before a comitia, the repeating of evidence at the jury's request.

For example, if a judge is unsure about a decision, they may choose to use ampliatio and delay their ruling until they have more information. In a criminal trial, if the jury needs to hear a piece of evidence again, they can request ampliatio and have it repeated.

These examples illustrate how ampliatio is used to pause or repeat a legal proceedingin order to ensure that the decision made is fair and just.