The Court produces its decisions in two formats described below:
Judgments
A judgment is:
- the determination of a court in legal proceedings;
- any order of the court for the payment of an amount of money or costs; or
- a decree or order, whether final or interlocutory.
Judges do not always hand down their decisions when a trial is completed. If that happens then the judgment is said to be reserved and will be handed down at a later date.
Judgments of the Court are cited using the names of the parties, the year, the Court’s designation and the number of the judgment as in the example below:
Hibble v Cannon [2004] TASSC 1
Sentences
When an offender is found guilty by a jury in a criminal trial then the Judge will make available his/her Comments on Passing Sentence at the time of sentencing. The heading for these Comments is in the form of:
The State of Tasmania v Offender, followed by the name of the Judge, and on the next line the words “Comments on Passing Sentence” and the date.
There is no standard way of citing sentencing comments but the following example is an acceptable citation:
The State of Tasmania v Name of Offender, Judge, date (Sentence)
which makes it clear that the reference is to a Sentence and not a Judgment.