That which appears not is not; and nothing appears judicially before judgment.

Explanation

What does not appear in the record does not exist for judicial purposes — nothing is judicially cognizable until it is properly presented and entered before the court.

Where this applies

• A party tries to introduce evidence that was never filed with the court, and the judge excludes it — what does not appear in the record does not exist for the court's purposes.
• A defendant claims he submitted a document to the clerk, but it does not appear in the court file — the court treats it as nonexistent.
• An appellate court refuses to consider facts that were never presented at trial, because nothing is judicially cognizable until it is properly before the court.