Decision

A judgment given by a competent tribunal. The French lawyers call the opinions which they give on questions propounded to them, decisions.

Si 2. 8; Dig. 1. 2. 2; Ilanna v. Com'rs of Put- Dam County, 2!) Ind. 17<>: Estey v. Sheckler, 36 Wis. 434; also Judgment.

This word is variously defined. It is said that the decision of a court is its Judgment; Adams v. R. Co., 77 Miss. 194, L'-J South. 200, 317, 28 South. 956, 60 L. K. A. 33; Its opinion Is the reason given therefor or the views of the judge in relation to a certain subject; In re Estate of Winslow, 12 Misc. 254, 34 N. Ind. 535, 10 N. E. 302; Estey v. Sheckler, 36 Wis. 434; Board of Education of City of Emporia v. State, 7 Kan. App. 620, 52 Pac. 466. The judgment is recorded upon its rendition, and can be changed only through an application to the court. The decision is the property of the judges, subject to modification until transcribed in the records; Houston v. Williams, 13 Cal. 27, 73 Am. Dec. 565; Coffey v. Gamble, 117 la.

545, 91 N. W. 813.

The term decision is held to be a popular and not a technical word and to mean little more than a concluded opinion. It does not by itself amount to judgment or order as used in section 29 of the Local Government Act of 1SS8. It is an exercise of a consultative jurisdiction and is not appealable; [1891] 1 Q. B. 725. The word decision includes: Dismissal of an action for insufficiency of evidence; Volmer v. Stagerman, 25 Minn. 234; dismissal of appeal; Estey v. Sheckler, 36 Wis. 434; the findings of the court upon which a decree or judgment may be entered; Matter of Winslow, 12 Misc. 254, 34 N. Y. Supp. 637; an order of a probate court classifying a demand against the estate; Wolfiey v. Mc Pherson, 61 Kan. 492, 59 Pac. 1054; a subsequent order vacating it and relegating the demand to a different class; id. It is, among other things, an order determining the judgment to be entered; Garr, Scott & Co. v. Spaulding, 2 N. D. 414, 51 N. W. 867. It has a broader significance than judgment; Wolfiey v. Mc Pherson, 61 Kan. 492, 59 Pac. 1504. A "decision upon the merits" is one upon the justice of the case and not upon technical grounds merely; Mulhern v. R. Co., 2 Wyo. 465. "Surely a non-suit is not a decision;" id. A ruling upon the admission of evidence is not included in the words "decision or intermediate order"; State v. O'Brien, 18 Mont. 1, 43 Pac. 1091, 44 Pac. 399; the word is sometimes treated as synonymous with judgment; Estey v. Sheckler, 36 Wis. 434; Board of Education of City of Emporia v. State, 7 Kan. App. 620, 52 Pac. 466; Pierce v. State, 109 Ind. 535, 10 N. E. 302; it has been said that "in an abstract sense there is a shade of difference between the import of the word 'decision' and the word 'judgment' "; the former "is the resolution of the principles which determine the controversy; the judgment is the formal paper applying them to the rights of the parties"; Buckeye Pipe Line Co. v. Fee, 62 Ohio St. 543, 555, 57 N. E. 446, 78 Am. St. Rep. 743. As used in a statute characterizing the findings of fact and conclusions of law as a "written decision" it means something which must precede the judgment and upon which it is entered as upon a verdict; Corbett v. Job, 5 Nev. 201. The decisions of courts are not the law, formity of adjudications, the unanimity or dissension of the judges, the solidity of the reasons, and the perspicuity and precision with which the reasons are expressed; Yates v. Lansing, 9 Johns. (N. Y.) 395, 6 Am. Dec. 290; United States Savings & Loan Co. v. Harris, 113 Fed. 27; Swift v. Tyson, 16 Pet. (U. S.) 1, 10 L. Ed. 865; Phipps v. Harding, 70 Fed. 468, 17 C. C. A. 203, 30 L. R. A. 513; Falconer v. Simmons, 51 W. Va. 172, 41 S. E. 193. But on the other hand the term "law" is said to include the decisions of the courts; Miller v. Dunn, 72 Cal. 462, 14 Pac. 27, 1 Am. St. Rep. 67. Possibly, if not probably, the difference is one of expression rather than of substance.

DECIS0RY OATH.

See Oath.

See Oath.