Posture mismatch
The failure of a real, accurate, good-law citation that is offered for a proposition depending on a procedural standard, record, burden allocation or forum different from the one governing the motion in which it is cited.
First used in Right Law, Wrong Stage
Posture mismatch is a failure of fit, not of existence. A citator reports subsequent history, so a summary judgment opinion cited in a motion to dismiss shows a clean flag: nothing in its later history has changed. A citation verifier checks existence and support, and the mismatched citation passes both. The defect lies in a third predicate, applicability.
Retrieval makes the failure more likely. A system that ranks passages by textual similarity places "failed to allege facts showing notice" next to "failed to produce evidence of notice," although the two answer different legal questions.
The Institute's taxonomy divides the failure into four kinds (standard, record, burden and forum mismatch) and pairs them with a rule for which propositions may safely travel between stages.
Related terms
Related frameworks
Posture Mismatch Taxonomy
A citation can be real, accurate, good law and on point and still be wrong, because the proposition it is offered for depends on a standard, record, burden or forum different from the motion's; element definitions and substantive rules usually carry across stages, sufficiency holdings do not.
The Proposition-Usability Model
A cited proposition is usable only when it is still valid, governs in the forum and procedural posture, helps the represented party, and has not already been rejected in the jurisdiction.