A court decision is the judicial determination of parties’ rights and obligations reached by a judge on the basis of facts and law. It is often referred to as a ruling, a judgment, or an opinion, and it can mean either the act of delivering a ruling or the text of the ruling itself. Judges use precedent — court decisions of earlier cases that have similar facts and legal issues — when deciding new cases.
After reading the parties’ briefs and hearing oral arguments, the justices decide how the case should be resolved. Justices may write a majority or principal opinion, and they may also write concurring or dissenting opinions. Typically, the opinion is prefaced by a “syllabus,” which is a written summary of the case prepared by the Reporter of Decisions. The syllabus helps to make the case and its many opinions easier to read and understand.
In addition, if a Justice agrees with the outcome of the case but disagrees with some or all of the reasoning in the majority opinion, the Justice will write a separate concurrence or dissenting opinion. A decision is sometimes accompanied by one or more orders, which tell the parties and other courts what they should do in light of the decision.
It can take some time for the Appellate Court to make a decision on your appeal. Once the decision is released, it will be posted on the Appellate Court’s website or mailed to you. The Appellate Court may reverse, vacate (cancel), remand, or affirm the decision of the lower court.