Rule 85 Court Orders

When a judge or court makes a decision in your case, it needs to be written down and signed by a judge, magistrate judge, or court clerk. This creates an official record of what was decided.

However, the court doesn't have to wait for the written version before its decision counts. If a judge gives an order out loud in court, that order is valid and must be followed right away, even before someone writes it down and gets it signed. The written version comes later, but you're still expected to follow what the judge said in the meantime.

This means you can't ignore a verbal instruction from the judge just because you haven't received paperwork yet. If the judge tells you to do something during a hearing, that's a real order you need to follow.