adjudication

American  

[uh-joo-di-key-shuhn] / əˌdʒu dɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

adjudications plural

1. an act of adjudicating.

2. Law.

   1. the act of a court in making an order, judgment, or decree.

   2. a judicial decision or sentence.

   3. a court decree in bankruptcy.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonadjudication
  noun
• readjudication
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• adjudications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of adjudication

First recorded in 1685–95, adjudication is from the Late Latin word adjūdicātiōn- (stem of adjūdicātiō ). See adjudicate, -ion

Explanation

After a long court trial, the judge reviews all the evidence to come to a conclusion about a case and that process is called adjudication. Adjudication comes from the Old French ajugier meaning "to judge, pass judgment on." An adjudication results in a formal judgment or decision given by a court. Often these adjudications lead to the making of history, like the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka trial in which the process of adjudication resulted in a decision that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.