There is one exception to this absolute finality, and this is Rule 1.540, which gives the court jurisdiction to relieve a party from the act of finality in a narrow range of circumstances.â 10 Although Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.540 provides a procedural mechanism for undoing a judgment, the requirements of this rule are best addressed in a separate article.
The Law of the Case. The first judicial doctrine of finality to consider is that of the law of the case. The outcome of a direct appeal may be that the case is remanded to the trial court in whole or in part.
Furthermore, the Florida Supreme Court has confirmed that âactually decidedâ means those issues ââ actually presented and considered on a former appeal.ââ 20 This can include those issues that were âimplicitly addressed or necessarily consideredâ in the appellate courtâs prior decision. 21 Whether a panel of judges, in deciding an appeal, implicitly or necessarily considered certain issues may become a matter of some debate on remand in the trial court and in any subsequent appeal. 22 For example, should a party raise an unpreserved evidentiary issue on appeal, the appellate court might reverse and remand for a new trial on other grounds. In these circumstances, it would be difficult to infer anything from the appellate courtâs silence regarding the evidentiary issue, as the court may have decided either that the issue did not present a fundamental error or that it was unnecessary to address the unpreserved issue in light of the reversal.
A judgment on the merits rendered in a former suit between the same parties or their privies, upon the same cause of action, by a court of competent jurisdiction, is conclusive not only as to every matter which was offered and received to sustain or defeat the claim, but as to every other matter which might with propriety have been litigated and determined in that action.26
4 A separate doctrine, that of stare decisis, ensures stability by obligating courts to adhere to precedent. See Strand v. Escambia County, 992 So. 2d 150, 159 (Fla. 2008).
Lastly, although res judicata âhas a more binding effectâ 35 than the law of the case, courts will not invoke the doctrine âwhere it will work an injustice.â 36 Thus, like the law of the case doctrine and collateral estoppel, res judicata will not be applied where it would defeat the ends of justice.
If there existed an all-knowing oracle, people could haul their disagreements to it and receive a definite and perfect resolution. 1 The ruling received, founded on the oracleâs perfect factual and legal knowledge, would never be questioned. finality, we would simply mean that people understood the oracleâs judgment to be incontrovertible.
After graduating from law school, everyone you know will be aware that you are taking the bar exam and will most likely find out whether you pass on the first try. Friends and family will be anxiously awaiting to hear the news, confident in your abilities and the likelihood of your success. They will be shocked to find out that you failed. Awkward conversations are inevitable in the weeks after results come out. People will not know what to say or how to react around you at first. It may feel like the end of the world, but I assure you, it isnât. Soon all those people will forget about it and move on with their lives. And so will you.
Failing the bar exam does not define who you are.