LEGAL PRINCIPLE: APPELLATE PRACTICE – Finality of Judgment – Court Becoming Functus Officio After Delivery of Judgment

Once court delivers judgment: court becomes functus officio (having discharged its duty) and loses power to alter it. When judgment is: decided and embodied in written judgment/order, made effective (pronounced/delivered), court cannot: reopen the matter, substitute different decision, or change recorded decision. This serves: finality of judgments, preventing endless reconsideration, and protecting parties’ reliance on judgments. “Truly embodied” means: decision clearly expressed in judgment, not ambiguous or incomplete. “Made effective” means: judgment delivered/pronounced, not merely drafted. After delivery: court’s power over that matter ends, parties must appeal if aggrieved, and court cannot revisit or revise. Limited exceptions exist: clerical errors (slip rule—see Principle 546), orders made without jurisdiction, or ambiguities requiring clarification. But substantive decisions: cannot be changed, cannot be reconsidered, and stand as delivered. This principle maintains: judicial finality, certainty in litigation, and preventing courts from repeatedly changing decisions. Parties wanting to challenge: must appeal to higher court, cannot ask same court to reconsider, and cannot obtain rehearing absent exceptional circumstances. This fundamental doctrine ensures judgments are final and binding once delivered.