The Requirement for Making Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Washington

Authors

William D. Cameron

Abstract

The doctrine that a court should make findings of fact and conclusions of law as the basis of a judgment in a case tried by a court without a jury originated with the so-called "Field" Procedure Code presented to the New York legislature in 1848. Paradoxically, most western states quickly incorporated the burdensome procedure into their respective codes, while New York admirably adopted a different system. Western states, like Washington where the system of findings as a basis of the judgment in a jury-waived case has been statutory since 1854, have by and large retained the procedure. In 1938 the requirement of findings of fact and conclusions of law as the basis of a judgment in a jury-waived case gained a measure of dignity when the United States Supreme Court promulgated the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

First Page

261

Recommended Citation

William D. Cameron, Comment, The Requirement for Making Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Washington, 31 Wash. L. Rev. & St. B.J. 261 (1956).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol31/iss3/4