Opinion ID: 2543709
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: memorandum decisions in general

Text: ¶ 7 We note that the matter presented for our review is a Memorandum Decision of the court of appeals designated Not for Official Publication. As instituted by the court of appeals, memorandum decisions designated as such are not published, and, in this respect, differ from opinions that are published in the official reporter and may be relied upon as precedent in the courts of this state. Memorandum decisions are intended to address cases which do not present novel issues of law on appeal, with reference to well-established precedent arising either from case law or from unambiguous statutory language. They are intended to be of use only to the lower tribunal whose work is the subject of the appeal, and to the litigants and parties in the case. For this reason, memorandum decisions usually dispense with much of the background detail common to an opinion. Presumably, the lower court and the parties are well aware of the facts and circumstances giving rise to the appeal and need not be reminded in any detail. While each case reviewed on appeal is of importance to the parties involved, and to their attorneys and the lower court, not all matters are of general interest to the public and bar. ¶ 8 Opinions of the court, on the other hand, are intended for the general consumption of courts, litigants, the bar, and the public. They are usually more detailed in their treatment of the matter under review so that persons not familiar with the underlying case will have sufficient background to understand fully the reasoning and decision reached by the appellate court in rendering its opinion. ¶ 9 Once a legal principle has been well established in the law, it is rarely necessary to review the genesis and justification for that principle in subsequent cases. For example, the standard of review applied by an appellate court in this state to a matter decided on a motion for summary judgment is set forth in numerous cases from this court and the court of appeals, and is specified in rule 56 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. As a result, it would add nothing to the law, or the understanding of the law, for us to explain in each such case the reasoning behind the rule. We simply note it in passing, and then apply it. This concept of not continually repeating well-established legal principles has given rise to the use of memorandum decisions by the court of appeals. ¶ 10 Under our current system, the majority of appeals are either filed directly with the court of appeals, see Utah Code Ann. § 78-2-2 (Supp.2001) (jurisdiction of the supreme court); § 78-2a-3 (jurisdiction of the court of appeals), or they are transferred there by this court, see Utah R.App. P. 42 (transfer from the supreme court to the court of appeals); Utah R.App. P. 44 (transfer of improperly pursued appeals). The intent of this process is to focus the time of the supreme court on cases of first impression, and those cases considered by the legislature to be of such importance that transfer to the intermediate appellate court is not authorized. ¶ 11 Theoretically, the court of appeals handles those cases that are least likely to present novel issues of law and most likely to be subject to application of well-established precedent. In reality, however, the court of appeals is often faced with novel legal issues, cases that require the interpretation of statutory law for the first time, and cases of broad interest in the legal community. This is in part a result of the statutory jurisdiction of the court of appeals, which includes, among other things, all juvenile and family law matters, see Utah Code Ann. § 78-2a-3(2)(c) & (h) (Supp.2001), and partly a result of imperfect screening by the supreme court in deciding which cases to transfer to the court of appeals. [1] ¶ 12 Once a matter reaches the court of appeals by either of the two mechanisms, through direct filing of the appeal with the court of appeals or through transfer from the supreme court, the court of appeals is faced with a substantial volume of cases to resolve each year. In an effort to provide thorough and timely review, the court of appeals has chosen to treat some cases with a fully-reasoned, published, citable opinion, and others with abbreviated, unpublished, non-citable memorandum decisions. The decision to treat a particular decision as an opinion or as a memorandum decision is one made by the judges of the court of appeals, and is subject to modification by them until the decision is released to the parties and public. Once issued as a memorandum decision, it is difficult to reissue as an opinion because of the process by which each is produced. Although the outcome of the appeal should be identical no matter which format is adopted, the drafting process, and the product produced, are substantially different. ¶ 13 Some confusion has arisen as a result of the use by the court of appeals of memorandum decisions. Under our constitutional authority to govern, by rule, the appellate process, [2] we take this opportunity to provide guidance on the use of memorandum decisions, and the practice of treating them as not officially published, and not citable as precedent. ¶ 14 A memorandum decision may not be used to render a decision in any matter not clearly and unequivocally disposed of on the basis of well-established Utah case law or Utah statute. [3] A party to an appeal is entitled to an understanding of the reasons relied upon by the appellate court in reaching its decision. When the appellate court can cite to clear precedent that is, without question, applicable to the situation presented for review, the parties may know of the reasoning without the need of the appellate court reiterating previously well defined law. However, when the reasoning is new, or novel, or has not previously been applied to a matter of the type on appeal, a memorandum decision is inappropriate. ¶ 15 Increasingly, matters accepted by this court for certiorari review are matters addressed by the court of appeals in a memorandum decision. This circumstance presents another difficulty. When the reasoning of the court of appeals is abbreviated, or superficial, or incomplete, our review is made much more difficult. While we may guess what reasoning was employed, and be offered other speculation by the parties in their briefs on certiorari, we cannot know, without remand to the court of appeals for a more complete explanation. Remand, while effective and oftentimes appropriate, is costly in both time and resources for the parties and for the court, and is therefore only to be used when necessary. More helpful would be a moderation in the use of memorandum decisions that limits their use to cases decided on well-established and readily ascertainable grounds, and including reference to the well-established law given in the memorandum decision. When such a citation cannot be given, the issue under consideration is not appropriate for memorandum decision treatment. ¶ 16 We also take this opportunity to correct the misimpression that the Judicial Council has authority to adopt rules governing the use of memorandum decisions in the appellate process. This responsibility and authority has been specifically reserved to the supreme court in the constitution. Utah Const. art. VIII, § 4. Unless and until this court adopts a rule to the contrary, it is appropriately within the discretion of the court of appeals to determine which matters require oral argument, which decisions require a full opinion, and which do not. It is not, however, within their authority, or the authority of the Judicial Council, to decide which of their decisions may be cited as precedent. [4] The work of judges, the product being decisions and opinions issued to the parties, bar, and public, is the very fabric of the common law. When judges speak on issues of law, that expression becomes part of the law until it is authoritatively revised. When the court of appeals renders a decision on an issue, that decision is automatically part of the law of this state, unless and until contravened by this court, the legislature, or the people through the processes authorized for the making of new law. For this reason, decisions of the court of appeals expressed in a memorandum decision, or in an opinion, are equally binding upon lower courts of this state, and may be cited to the degree that they are useful, authoritatively and persuasively. Such decisions are issued and distributed as are all other opinions, except for the fact that they are not published in the Utah Advance Reports or the West reporter system. They are generally available to the bar and public through the internet service provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts, and although not officially published, may be presented as precedential authority to a lower court or as persuasive authority to this court, so long as all parties and the court are supplied with accurate copies at the time the decision is first cited. ¶ 17 Obviously, if memorandum decisions are limited only to those circumstances in which the legal reasoning and the application of that reasoning to a case add nothing to the body of the law, citation of a memorandum decision will be unnecessary. Existing primary case law is adequate and more appropriate because of its more complete reasoning. But, in those rare instances when some new legal rule is inadvertently announced by way of a memorandum decision, authorizing citation to that decision will assure consistency in the law. ¶ 18 Finally, since the use of memorandum decisions is limited to circumstances where the reasoning of the court cannot be misunderstood, it is unlikely that a memorandum decision is appropriate in cases where the ultimate result is other than an affirmance of the trial court's actions, except in those rare instances where the reasons for reversal are clearly set forth in prior case law. In matters where the lower court is reversed, in whole or in part, or affirmed on other grounds, more explanation is usually necessary. In matters where the trial court's decision and reasoning are upheld, the reasoning of the trial court leading to that result is usually well known to the litigants, and need not be carefully described. Reversals and affirmances on other grounds do not enjoy this same advantage. ¶ 19 With that background in mind, we consider the memorandum decision in this case.