Also known as: final judgements · final order
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court's conclusive determination of the parties' rights and obligations that ends the litigation. The judgment must resolve all claims as to all parties and leave nothing for further court action except execution. It triggers appeal rights, claim preclusion, and related doctrines such as double jeopardy or evidentiary use of convictions.
After the information was filed, Felicity French was tried for robbery and the court entered judgment in her favor on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove identity. The state later attempted to prosecute her for the same robbery against a second victim. The final judgment for the defendant necessarily determined an issue inconsistent with conviction and barred the second prosecution.
Farah Fox was acquitted of robbing one victim when identity was the sole contested issue at trial. The state then sought to prosecute her for robbing a second victim in the same incident. The valid and final judgment determined the ultimate fact of identity against the prosecution and barred the subsequent case under the Double Jeopardy Clause.
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Frontier Capital removed a state contract action to federal court. Before any final judgment, the district court discovered it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. The court remanded the case to state court even though the thirty-day period for other defects had passed.
Fisher Foods sued Fulton Shipping for breach and demanded only contract damages. After trial the court entered final judgment that also awarded restitutionary relief to which Fisher Foods was entitled even though it had not been demanded in the pleadings.
Forrest Falconer was convicted after trial of intentionally killing his uncle. In the later probate proceeding the court used the final judgment of conviction to establish conclusively that Forrest was the decedent's slayer and therefore barred from inheriting under the will.
Fatima Flores was prosecuted for fraud. The government offered a prior final judgment of conviction against her for a felony punishable by more than one year of imprisonment to prove an element essential to the current charges. The judgment satisfied the requirements for admission under the hearsay exception.
A judgment is final when it ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. Courts treat an order as final when it conclusively resolves all claims as to all parties.
Yes. A final judgment of conviction entered after a guilty plea satisfies the hearsay exception when the conviction was for a crime punishable by death or imprisonment exceeding one year and the evidence is offered to prove a fact essential to the judgment.
No. Once a federal civil judgment is final and the time for appeal has expired, separation of powers prevents Congress from ordering courts to reopen and revise that judgment.
…circumstances no warrant for reversal. In California v. Stewart , No. 584, I would dismiss the writ of certiorari for want of a final judgment, 28 U. S. C. § 1257 (3) (1964 ed.); but if the merits are to be reached I would affirm on the ground that the State failed to fulfill its burden, in the absence of a showing that…