ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ultimate issue (law)

An ultimate issue in law means the central question that a court or a jury has to answer in a legal case. It's like when you play a game like tag, and the most important question is "Who gets tagged?" or "Who is it?" That's the ultimate issue in the game.

In a legal case, the ultimate issue is what everyone is trying to figure out. It's the question that everyone is trying to answer so that they can decide who is right and who is wrong. For example, if a person is accused of stealing someone's phone, the ultimate issue might be "Did the person really steal the phone?"

The ultimate issue is important because it's the foundation of the entire legal case. Every piece of evidence, every witness testimony, and every argument made in court is designed to help answer the ultimate issue. It's like building a big tower, and the ultimate issue is the foundation that holds everything up.

To make a decision about the ultimate issue, the judge or the jury will have to carefully analyze all the information they have, and then make a choice. It's kind of like when you do a puzzle, and you have to look at all the pieces and figure out how they fit together to create a picture.

So, to sum up, an ultimate issue in law is like the central question that everyone is trying to answer in a legal case. It's the foundation of the entire case, and everyone is working hard to figure out the answer so that they can make a decision about who is right and who is wrong.
Related topics others have asked about: