Majority opinion
| Judicial opinions & aggregates for official decisions (O.S-Federal) |
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Majority opinion |
In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court.[1] A majority opinion becomes the decision of the court in a matter. It also gives an explanation of the reasons for the court's decision.[2]
Decisions[change | change source]
A dissenting opinion is an opinion written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court. Very similar to a majority opinion is a plurality opinion.[3] In this instance, a majority of Justices agree on the result of a case, but do not all agree on the reasons for the result.[3]
In the United States Supreme Court, a majority of the Justices have to agree with all of the contents of the Court's opinion before it can be published.[4] In a few cases, after reading drafts of the opinions, Justices may switch their votes and what was the minority opinion becomes the majority opinion.[4] No opinion is considered official until it is read in open court or made available publicly.[4]
Tie votes[change | change source]
Normally, appellate courts (or panels) are staffed with an odd number of judges to avoid a tie vote. Sometimes and in some jurisdictions, when judicial positions are vacant or a judge has recused (excuse) himself or herself from the case, the court may be stuck with a tie. In this situation the decision of the lower Court stands.[4]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "How to Read a U.S. Supreme Court Opinion" (PDF). American Bar Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ↑ Martin Kelly. "Majority Opinion". About Education. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James F. Spriggs II; David R. Stras, 'Explaining Plurality Decisions', The Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 99:515 (2011), p. 515
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Supreme Court Procedures". United States Courts. Retrieved 2 March 2016.