An order to show cause is a type of court order that requires one or more of the parties to a case to justify, explain, or prove something to the court.
[1] For example, if a party requests that the court find another party in contempt of an existing court order, the judge will typically issue an "Order to Show Cause Re Contempt" to the party accused of being in contempt of court.
In removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the term "Order to Show Cause" (OTSC) was replaced by "Notice to Appear" (NTA) as of April 1997.
[2] In some jurisdictions, such as New York, an "order to show cause" is used routinely to initiate a motion when a traditional "notice of motion" would not be sufficient—for example, when the moving party wishes to vary the usual schedule for considering a motion, or when a temporary restraining order or other provisional remedy is being sought.
By presenting an order to show cause with supporting papers, the moving party has the opportunity to obtain the judge's input at the outset of the motion, rather than waiting until all the moving, answering, and reply papers are fully submitted.