Unlock the secret behind the confusion! Even native English speakers often mistake these words for each other. But they are actually quite distinct and using them correctly can contribute to precise, professional-sounding, legal English.
This post covers the difference between each of these terms and how to use them:
Understanding the Word Ruling In Legal English
A ruling is the outcome of a court’s decision. Think of it as the result or consequence of the judge’s deliberation and application of the law to a particular matter.
In the course of a trial or hearing, many different legal and procedural questions can arise that require the court’s interpretation or decision. For example, we might want to ask the court:
Whether certain evidence can be used in court: i.e. whether it is admissible.
How a specific law or statute applies to the facts of the case: i.e. what the court’s interpretation is.
Whether certain requests (motions) are admissible: like motions to dismiss the case or motions suppress evidence.
👉 Once the judge or the court reaches a decision on the issue, the ruling is the official pronouncement of that decision.
💡 Rulings can be very narrow, focusing on one particular point of law, or very broad, covering the case as a whole.
A ruling can also lead to an order.
Understanding the Word Order in Legal English
An order can be understood as a written direction or determination by a court that requires a party to do something or refrain from doing something, or it can set the legal framework for further proceedings in a case.
👉 Orders are essential tools used by courts to manage and regulate the litigation process. They serve as formal, binding commands that must be followed by the parties involved.
💡 Orders can take different forms depending on the nature of the issue being addressed and the stage of the legal proceedings. They can be categorized into two main types: interlocutory orders and final orders.
Think of interlocutory orders as resolving intermediate matters that can arise throughout the course of litigation but aren’t really the main issue being litigated. By that rationale, final orders resolve all the issues, bringing the case to a close. In legal English, that’s often referred to as being dispositive of the entire matter.
Understanding the Word Opinion in Legal English
This is a tricky term because it’s not used consistently throughout the English-speaking world.
🇺🇸 In American English, you can think of a court opinion as a formal written document issued by a judge (or a panel of judges) that explains the court’s decision in a case. It basically provides an account of the court’s reasoning and legal analysis. In the U.S., a court opinion typically includes several key components, such as a statement of facts, points of law, reasoning (or legal analysis), and dicta (or obiter dictum).
🇬🇧 In British English, opinion can have that meaning too. However, according to Bryan Garner, editor of Black’s Law Dictionary “the usual British English equivalent is judgment [or judgement]. Instead, in BrE opinion, typically refers to advice given by a barrister about the facts of a case or a legal memorandum prepared by a solicitor and given to the barrister. On this side of the pond, a judgment is a court’s final determination of the rights and obligations of the parties.”
Understanding the Word Decree in Legal English
Traditionally, decree refers to a formal and authoritative judgment or order rendered by a court operating in areas of law that were historically governed by courts of equity, admiralty, divorce, or probate. Unlike courts of law, which traditionally focused on awarding damages or penalties, courts of equity aimed to achieve fair outcomes through more flexible remedies, such as injunctions or specific performance.
👉 In contemporary legal English, the term judgment is more commonly used in this context, while decree is now generally understood to refer more broadly to any court's issuance of relief.
Understanding the Word Verdict in Legal English
👉 Verdict refers to the formal decision or finding of fact made by a jury in a legal case.
It is the jury's determination of whether the evidence presented during the trial satisfies the legal elements of the offense (in criminal cases) or the claim (in civil cases). A verdict typically resolves key factual issues, such as whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty in a criminal trial, or whether the plaintiff should be awarded damages in a civil trial.
💡 More broadly, the term verdict can sometimes be used to refer to a judge's ruling in a nonjury (bench) trial. However, technically, the more accurate term in those cases is judgment or decision, because the judge, rather than a jury, is deciding the facts and legal issues.
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Further reading: Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage 252-53, 495-96, 636-38, 640, 791, 925-26 (3d ed. 2011). Black’s Law Dictionary 497-98, 970-73, 1265-67, 1270-72, 1533, 1791-92 (10th ed. 2014).
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