Rule 165 Reasons for Decision

When a judge decides a case without a jury, or grants summary judgment, the judge has to explain the decision. This means writing down the facts the judge found to be true and the legal reasoning that led to the final ruling. This helps everyone understand why the case came out the way it did, and it gives a clear record if someone wants to appeal.

The rule also covers what happens with evidence that one side objected to during the case. If the judge lets that evidence in despite the objection, and later doesn't specifically say the evidence was ignored, then courts will assume the judge did consider it when making the decision. So if you want the record to show the judge left certain evidence out, the judge needs to say so clearly and point to that exact evidence. Otherwise, later on, everyone will assume it played a part in the ruling.