Bifurcation is a judge's ability in law to divide a trial into two parts so as to render a judgment on a set of legal issues without looking at all aspects.
[1] Criminal trials are also often bifurcated into guilt and sentencing phases, especially in capital cases.
Factors evaluated will include congruence of issues, complexity for the jury, and possible prejudice to any of the parties.
In some states, a defendant who has raised the defense of mental disease or defect will automatically create a bifurcated trial.
Alaska permits the courts, under certain circumstances, to divide the parties' property "at any time after the judgment".
Michigan law, Mich. Ct. R. 3.211(B)(3) (1998) directs that a judgment of divorce must include a determination of the parties' property rights.
The Third Department of New York's Appellate Division, Busa v. Busa, 196 A.D.2d 267, 609 N.Y.S.2d 452 (1994), Sullivan v. Sullivan, 174 A.D.2d 862, 571 N.Y.S.2d 154 (1991), and Garcia v. Garcia, 178 A.D.2d 683, 577 N.Y.S.2d 156 (1991), held that a divorce decree is nonbinding and without legal effect if including bifurcation and without making an award of equitable distribution at the time of dissolution, while the Fourth Department, Zack v. Zack, 183 A.D.2d 382, 590 N.Y.S.2d 632 (1992), rejected these decisions supported by Johnson, 172 Misc.