What Is a Question of Law?

Questions of Law

• Questions of law, also termed legal questions, are the exclusive province of the judge. The judge decides what a law means and whether that law applies in a given case. An example would be a judge's decision on whether "entry" is required under a burglary statute.

Questions of Fact

• In contrast to questions of law, questions of fact are issues in dispute independent of the law. Such questions typically go to the jury; if there's no jury, the judge may answer questions of fact as well. Following the example above, one question of fact would be whether a burglary defendant actually went inside a dwelling.

Law and Fact

• Sometimes a question involves both fact and law. Such "mixed questions of law and fact" usually belong to the jury if there is one. Continuing the example, one mixed question would be whether a defendant going inside a dwelling fits the judge's interpretation of "entry" under the burglary statute.