Petition or Motion - Any difference?

I was recently at a bench / bar conference where the judges involved talked about the difference between a petition and a motion. They quite clearly said they were different, and required different procedures and notice to file. Asked for examples, things broke down from there. 100 lawyers and a few Judges couldn't pin it down.

So I looked around on the web, and I find myself concurring with the North Carolina Court of Appeals, who in their FAQ, say :

Motion. A written application requesting the Court to make a specific ruling or order. The requirements for a motion are set out in Rule 224.

Petition. A written application requesting the Court to make a specific ruling or order. There is no practical difference between a petition and a motion.

----BUT----

Of course according to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in In re: Rory Allen Gregory 1999 FED App. 0227P (6th Cir.) - No. 99-5602, there is a distinction to be found:

"The difference between a § 2255 motion and a petition under § 2241 is important for jurisdictional purposes. The former must be filed in the district court which sentenced the movant, whereas a petition for habeas corpus under § 2241 may be filed in the district court having jurisdiction over the petitioner’s custodian. See In re Hanserd, 123 F.3d 922, 925 (6th Cir. 1997); United States v. Jalili, 925 F.2d 889, 893-94 (6th Cir. 1991); Cohen v. United States, 593 F.2d 766, 770-71 (6th Cir. 1979); Wright v. United States Board of Parole, 557 F.2d 74, 77 (6th Cir. 1977)."

There the inmate had styled it one way, and it was treated another. ut did the style of the pleading matter? Or just the applicable section? That fact is lost to posterity.

If you have any ideas on the difference between a motion and a petition, let me know!

A few reasons to hold onto your britches

And all this from google news on just October 15, 2007 10:00 PM Eastern.... Notice the first item, can you hear the cash being sucked out of the economy?

First Baby Boomer Files For Social Security FOX News - WASHINGTON - Kathleen Casey-Kirschling filed for early retirement Monday, becoming the first baby boomer to start collecting Social Security.

China’s Leader Closes Door to Reform New York Times - By JOSEPH KAHN BEIJING, Oct. 15 - Chinese President Hu Jintao promised to address social fissures, a degraded environment and rampant corruption during his second term as China’s top leader, but he all but ruled out more than cosmetic political reform

Russia's Putin emerges from Iran plot 'like a hero' Reuters - By Conor Sweeney MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Commentators were both amused and intrigued at the heroic light thrown on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday when he defied what he said were security service warnings of a plot to kill him in Iran.

Bernanke Says Housing to Remain `Drag' on US Growth (Update3) Bloomberg - By Craig Torres and Scott Lanman Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the housing slump will be a ``significant drag'' on US growth into next year, though evidence of a broader impact on spending is limited.

DMV Chief in New York Defends Plan to Give Illegal Immigrants Licenses New York Times - By DANNY HAKIM ALBANY, Oct. 15— In a hearing punctuated by angry exchanges about terrorism, Senate Republicans grilled the commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles on Monday, pressing him to defend Gov.