Editing Consent decree (section)

==Legal process==

The process of introducing a consent decree begins with negotiation.<ref name="resnik2015" /> One of three things happens: a [[lawsuit]] is filed and the parties concerned reach an agreement prior to [[adjudication]] of the contested issues; a lawsuit is filed and actively contested, and the parties reach an agreement after the court has ruled on some issues; or the parties settle their dispute prior to the filing of a lawsuit and they simultaneously file a lawsuit and request that the court agree to the entry of [[Judgment (law)|judgment]].<ref name="resnik2015" /><ref name="isenbergh1940">{{cite journal |last1=Isenbergh |first1=Maxwell S. |last2=Rubin |first2=Seymour J. |date=1940 |title=Antitrust Enforcement Through Consent Decrees |journal=[[Harvard Law Review]] |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=386–414 |doi=10.2307/1333475 |issn=0017-811X |jstor=1333475 }}</ref><ref name="kane">{{cite book |title=Civil Procedure in a Nutshell |last=Kane |first=Mary Kay |publisher=[[West Publishing]] |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-314-09398-1 |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |oclc=249079229 |url= https://archive.org/details/civilprocedurein00kane}}</ref> The court is meant to turn this agreement into a judicial decree.<ref name="kane" /><ref name="consent1922">{{cite journal |date=1922 |title=Consent Decrees |journal=Columbia Law Review |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=344–348 |doi=10.2307/1111304 |issn=0010-1958 |jstor=1111304 |jstor-access=free |ref={{harvid|Consent Decrees|1922}}}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last=Schwarzschild |first=Maimon |date=November 1, 1984 |title=Public Law by Private Bargain: Title VII Consent Decrees and the Fairness of Negotiated Institutional Reform |url= https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2890&context=dlj |journal=Duke Law Journal |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=887–936 |issn=0012-7086 |doi=10.2307/1372392 |jstor=1372392 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{sfn|Isenbergh|Rubin|1940|pp=388–389}} In many cases, the request for entry of a consent decree prompts judges to sign the documents presented then and there.<ref name="resnik2015" /><ref name=":2" /> In some cases, however, such as [[criminal case]]s, the judge must make some sorts of assessments before the court's entry of the agreement as a consent decree.<ref name="resnik2015" />

The usual consent decree is not self-executing.<ref name="consent1922" /> A consent decree is implemented when the parties transform their agreements from paper to reality.<ref name="resnik2015" /><ref name="kane" />{{sfn|Isenbergh|Rubin|1940|p=392}} The judge who signed the decree may have no involvement or may monitor the implementation.<ref name="resnik2015" /><ref name=":2" /> The judge can only step in to assist in enforcement if a party complains to the court that an opponent has failed to perform as agreed.<ref name="resnik2015" /> In this case, the offending party would be committed for [[Contempt of court|contempt]].<ref name="consent1922" />

Decrees by consent are more [[Legally binding|binding]] than those issued {{lang|la|in invitum}}, or against an unwilling party,<ref>{{cite web |title=''in invitum'' |work=Merriam-Webster.com |url= https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in+invitum |access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> which are subject to modification by the same court, and reversal by higher courts.<ref name="consent1922" /> The decree issued by consent cannot be modified, except by consent. If the decree was obtained by means of [[fraud]] or given by mistake, it may be set aside by a court.<ref name="consent1922" /> Errors of law or of inferences from the facts may invalidate it completely.<ref name="consent1922" /><ref name=":2" />

Typically, a consent decree dispenses with the necessity of having proof in court, since by definition the defendant agrees to the order. Thus, the use of a consent decree does not involve a [[Sentence (law)|sentence]] or an admission of guilt.<ref name="consent1922" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Civil Procedure in a Nutshell |last=Kane |first=Mary Kay |publisher=[[West Publishing]] |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-314-06641-1 |edition=4th |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |oclc=611673986 |url= https://archive.org/details/federalincometax00burk }}</ref>{{sfn|Isenbergh|Rubin|1940|p=387}} Likewise, the consent decree prevents a [[finding of facts]], so the decree cannot be pleaded as {{lang|la|[[Res judicata|res adjudicata]]}}.<ref name="kane" /><ref name="consent1922" />{{sfn|Isenbergh|Rubin|1940|p=394}}