In law, an en banc (/ˌɑːn ˈbɑːŋk/; alternatively in banc, in banco or in bank; French: [ɑ̃ bɑ̃]) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges.[1][2] For courts like the United States Courts of Appeals in which each case is heard by a three-judge panel instead of the entire court, en banc review is usually used only for unusually complex or important cases or when the court believes there is an especially significant issue at stake.[3] En banc is a French phrase meaning "in bench".