The doctrine of judicial admissions recognizes that factual allegations made by litigants in their pleadings are binding in the case and on appeal. Examples of pleadings include a complaint, answer, counterclaim, third party complaint, affidavits, and motions. As this article demonstrates, there is a split among federal circuit courts on whether a brief or legal memorandum should be considered a "pleading" so as to come within the ambit of the doctrine. What is clear though is that district courts are given broad discretion in determining whether a written statement should be considered a judicial admission.
In the Third Circuit Court of Appeals which is the appellate level for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey an attorney's spoken words made in the context of a trial or pretrial proceedings can be held binding on the client. Read more about the doctrine of judicial admissions.