Judgment (law)

A Formal Decision Made by a Court
Following a Lawsuit

A judgment, in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a guilty defendant in a criminal matter, or providing a remedy for the plaintiff in a civil law matter.

In the United States, under the rules of civil procedure governing practice in federal courts and most state courts, the entry of judgment is the final order entered by the court in the case, leaving no further action to be taken by the court with respect to the issues contested by the parties to the lawsuit. With certain exceptions, only a final judgment is subject to appeal.

Types of judgment in law

  • Consent judgment, a final, binding judgment in a case in which both parties agree, by stipulation, to a particular outcome
  • Declaratory judgment, a judgment of a court in a civil case which declares the rights, duties, or obligations of each party in a dispute
  • Default judgment, a binding judgment in favor of the plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons
  • Summary judgment, a legal term which means that a court has made a determination without a full trial
  • Vacated judgment, the result of the judgment of an appellate court which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court

Reserved judgment

A judge will sometimes, having heard both sides of the argument, refrain from making an immediate decision and retire to consider the case further. The judge will announce that they are to 'reserve' their judgment until a later time. When the judgment is finally published, it will typically be introduced 'This is a reserved judgment...' as acknowledgement of this process.[citation needed] It is sometimes annotated in law reports by the Latin phrase "Cur. adv. vult." (Curia advisari vult).

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