Keith Mack
In law, a legal opinion is a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case. It lays out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Case law, on the other hand, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges in deciding issues before them. Case law may be binding or merely persuasive depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent. So, while all judicial opinions are part of case law, not all cases result in published opinions. Opinions are usually only published when the law is being interpreted in a novel way, or when they establish a particular legal interpretation.
Are Court Opinion and Case Law the Same?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | A court opinion is a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case. It lays out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding issues before them. |
| Use | Court opinions are published at the direction of the court and act as precedent for later courts. Case law may be used by judges as a guide when deciding issues before them. |
| Binding Nature | Court opinions establish a particular legal interpretation. Case law may be binding or merely persuasive depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent. |
| Availability | Court opinions are usually published, but not all cases decided by a higher court result in the publication of an opinion. Case law is one of the major sources of law in common law legal systems. |
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Case law as precedent
Case law and court opinion are not the same, but they are related. A court opinion is a written view of a judge or judges with respect to a particular order. Case law, on the other hand, is a collection of legal precedents and principles established by previous cases.
Case law is a critical component of the common law system, where past judicial decisions serve as precedents to guide future rulings. This promotes consistency and predictability in the law. Precedent, or stare decisis ("to stand by things decided"), is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent similar cases.
When a court establishes a legal principle, it will typically uphold that principle when the same legal issue arises in the future, as per the doctrine of stare decisis. For example, in Kudlacik v Johnnys Shawnee Inc., a legal principle was established, and the court upheld this principle when faced with a similar issue.
In some cases, precedent is binding, meaning lower courts must follow the decisions of appellate courts in the same jurisdiction. For instance, in the United States, decisions of the US Supreme Court are binding on all other courts nationwide. However, persuasive precedent is not binding, and courts may consider it but are not obligated to follow it. Decisions from courts in other jurisdictions or dicta from higher courts are examples of persuasive precedent.
When interpreting unclear laws or addressing novel legal issues, courts often turn to case law from other jurisdictions for guidance. Additionally, when a federal court rules on an issue of state law, it must follow the precedent of the state courts under the Erie doctrine. This helps maintain consistency and prevent divergent results across different court systems.
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Published opinions
The decision to publish an opinion or not is determined by court rules, with criteria established by each appellate court circuit. Approximately 35% of Court of Appeals decisions and 20% of US District Court decisions are published. While unpublished opinions may be read by attorneys, they are typically not citable and do not carry the same weight as published opinions.
A slip opinion refers to a recent published case that has not yet been added to a reporter. It can be cited in briefs according to specific rules, such as Bluebook Rule B10.1.4 and Rule 10.8.1(b).
It is worth noting that the practice of not publishing all court decisions has sparked some controversy, with some speculating about the motivations behind keeping certain opinions unpublished.
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Court orders
In the US legal system, the terms "decision", "order", "opinion", "judgment", and "case" are often used interchangeably. However, an order specifically tells the parties involved in a case what they should do. These instructions can be related to administrative matters, such as scheduling, or they can be more significant, such as an order made after a hearing by a judicial officer.
For example, the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, issued an order inviting amicus participation in a case to address whether federal law preempts Michigan law regarding landlord notice requirements for possession claims. This order was likely made after a hearing on the matter, and it provides instructions for the parties involved in the case to follow.
It is important to note that not all court orders are accompanied by opinions. An opinion refers to the written views of a judge or judges with respect to a particular order. When an opinion is provided, it can take the form of a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, a dissenting opinion, or a combination of these.
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Common law
The terms "court opinion" and "case law" are often used interchangeably, and they are indeed closely related. A court opinion refers to the written views of a judge or judges concerning a particular order, whereas case law (or common law) is the body of law that is derived from these judicial decisions.
One advantage of common law is its flexibility. Unlike civil law systems, common law allows higher courts to overrule prior decisions without legislative intervention, enabling the legal system to adapt to new trends and changes in society. Common law also promotes stability and consistency since outcomes are based on previous case law rather than subjective, personal viewpoints.
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Judicial opinions
Published judicial opinions are considered case law, and they are a major source of law in common law legal systems. Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges in deciding issues before them. Lawyers refer to these judge-made rules as "common law". Judicial opinions can create specific legal rules that become part of American law. For example, in Miranda v. Arizona, the US Supreme Court interpreted the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of "due process" for people accused of crimes to mean that police must inform a suspect in custody of their constitutional rights before interrogation. Later cases applied this ruling as precedent and further developed the law.
In the US, judicial opinions are often published in reporters in chronological order as courts hand them down. Legal researchers can find the same judicial opinion in multiple reporters, and obtaining a citation to a case is crucial for efficient research. To aid in case research, West publishes digests that act as topical indexes to the reporter sets. Digests provide short summaries of cases and citations organised by topic, and each case is assigned a "topic and key number" referring to a specific legal issue.
While published opinions are generally more valuable to legal researchers, unpublished opinions or court filings can also be useful. Memoranda decisions, for instance, indicate how state or federal law applies to a case but do not establish legal precedent or reinterpret the law. On the other hand, opinions always establish a particular legal interpretation.
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Frequently asked questions
Court opinion is a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case. Case law, on the other hand, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges in deciding issues before them. Case law may be binding or merely persuasive depending on the relationship between the deciding court and the precedent.
Court opinions are a form of case law. Published opinions of courts are collectively referred to as case law and constitute a major source of law in common law legal systems. Once issued, court opinions act as precedent for later courts, thus providing their own legal rules that become part of the law.
Court opinions become case law when they are published and establish a particular legal interpretation. In the US, published court opinions are included in a volume from a series of books called law reports or 'reporters'. Court opinions that establish a legal interpretation act as precedent for later courts and thus become case law.
