Matter of Marriage of Pratt

(dissenting) — The majority overturns the Court of Appeals and in so doing expresses as its belief (a) *912prior to the final entry of the decree any of those involved — the parties, the trial court — could change their minds and (b) no important public purpose would be served by entering a decree nunc pro tunc.

With respect to (a), since, as Hume observed, the future can never be predicted, our expectation that the future will be like the past (e.g., that the sun will rise tomorrow morning) has no basis in reason; it is purely a matter of belief. Hume also asserted, however, that such theoretical…