verdict

A verdict is the formal decision or judgment rendered by a court at the conclusion of a trial or legal proceeding. It represents the culmination of the entire legal process. Verdicts are reached by a judge or a jury , depending on the type of trial and jurisdiction .

In a criminal trial, the verdict may include findings such as guilty or not guilty , reflecting whether the defendant’s guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt . In a civil trial, the verdict can entail various outcomes, such as liable or not liable and may also specify the amount of damages to be awarded to the prevailing party .

Summaries of verdicts are often reported in verdict reports. A verdict report usually contains the case name, case number, date of decision, "topic" (e.g. medical malpractice , employment discrimination , etc.), result (i.e. did the plaintiff (s) or defendant (s) win), the amount of the judgment (if any), the alleged injury , jurisdictional information (i.e. state and county where the lawsuit was tried), name of judge , name of attorneys, a brief summary of the facts, a listing of the expert witnesses who were used by the parties, and other miscellaneous information about the lawsuit .

[Last updated in August 2023 by Jim Robinson, Esq., JurisPro Expert Witness Directory ]