# Ask about truth and the reason for silence

## Intent

I want to ask about truth and the reason for silence.

## Wrong form and why it stays silent

An unknown condition is not false. A refuted conjunct closes a request to the judge, although the judgment conjunct itself remains unknown.

```law title="Incorrect form"
external judgment relation suitable(p: Person) { }
```

## Correct form

```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package recipe.m01 version "1.0.0";
namespace "urn:recipe:m-queries:01";
entity Person;
relation seen(p: Person);
relation eligible(p: Person);
external judgment relation suitable(p: Person) { authority Court; }
relation allowed(p: Person);
rule Allow strict { for p: Person; when eligible(p) and suitable(p); then allowed(p); }
```

## Frozen execution scene

| Input / variant | Question | Expectation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. live branch | `truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")))` | `truth_status == NEITHER;  evaluation_status == REQUIRES_JUDGMENT;  judgment_request(suitable, Court);` |
| 2. dead branch | `truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")))` | `truth_status == NEITHER;  evaluation_status == COMPUTED;  judgment_requests(0);` |
| 3. explain a dead branch | `why_not(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")))` | `evaluation_status == COMPUTED;  blocked_by(Allow);  judgment_requests(0);` |
| 4. explain the unknown | `why_not(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")))` | `evaluation_status == REQUIRES_JUDGMENT;  blocked_by(Allow);  judgment_request(suitable, Court);` |

```law
test "live branch awaits judge" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC";  }
        assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")));
    expect truth_status == NEITHER; expect evaluation_status == REQUIRES_JUDGMENT; expect judgment_request(suitable, Court);
}
```

```law
test "dead branch computes without judge" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC";  }
        assert not eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")));
    expect truth_status == NEITHER; expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED; expect judgment_requests(0);
}
```

```law
test "dead branch explains without judge" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC";  }
        assert not eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate why_not(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")));
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED; expect blocked_by(Allow); expect judgment_requests(0);
}
```

```law
test "unknown branch requests judge" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC";  }
        assert seen(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate why_not(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p")));
    expect evaluation_status == REQUIRES_JUDGMENT; expect blocked_by(Allow); expect judgment_request(suitable, Court);
}
```

Check of result fields and extra inputs:

```python
>>> import runpy
>>> checks = runpy.run_path("docs/recipes/m-queries/resources/check.py")
>>> checks["why"](https://github.com/arxohq/law/blob/master/docs/recipes/m-queries/1)
True
```

## Counterfactual

The sidecar mutation reproduces `LDC-E0201`. Counterfactual table variants are executed separately; input errors are not passed off as NEITHER.

## Boundary

In scene 3 the Allow blocker has trigger NOT_SATISFIED: eligible is refuted, suitable remains UNDETERMINED, with no requests. In scene 4 both conjuncts are UNDETERMINED; the why_not root classifies the goal like truth: status REQUIRES_JUDGMENT and the judge request for suitable. That is not a refutation: the request appears even where eligible is not established.

Why-not reads ready supports and does not recompute the law. Absence of a request to the judge does not turn its condition into FALSE_ONLY.

## Pitfall

A judge on a dead branch does not change the outcome — see [A judgment on a live branch](/recipes/z-interpretations/live-judgment/). Structural LawQL is a different interface.