In
law, a ''per curiam'' decision (or opinion) is a ruling issued by an
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
of multiple
judges in which the decision rendered is made by the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...
(or at least, a majority of the court) acting collectively (and typically, though not necessarily, unanimously).
In contrast to regular opinions, a ''per curiam'' does not list the individual judge responsible for authoring the decision,
but minority
concurring and
dissenting opinions are signed.
It is not the only type of decision that can reflect the opinion of the court. Other types of decisions can also reflect the opinion of the entire court, such as unanimous decisions in which the opinion of the court is expressed, with an author listed.
[ The term ''per curiam'' is ]Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
for "by the court".
United States
Federal
The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court are generally not ''per curiam'', with exceptions.[ ''Per curiam'' decisions tend to be short.][ In modern practice, they are most commonly used in summary decisions that the Court resolves without full argument and briefing. The designation is stated at the beginning of the opinion. Single-line ''per curiam'' decisions are also issued without concurrence or dissent by a hung Supreme Court (a 4–4 decision), when the Court has a vacant seat.
The notable exceptions to the usual characteristics for a ''per curiam'' decision are the cases of '' New York Times Co. v. United States'', '' Bush v. Gore'' and '']Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo
The Supreme Court of the United States handed down thirteen ''per curiam'' opinions during its 2020 term, which began October 5, 2020 and concluded October 3, 2021.The descriptions of two opinions have been omitted:
Because ''per curiam'' decisi ...
''. Although they were ''per curiam'', each had multiple concurrences and dissents.
Examples include:
* '' Ex parte Quirin'',
* '' Ray v. Blair'',
* ''Toolson v. New York Yankees
''Toolson v. New York Yankees'', 346 U.S. 356 (1953), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld, 7–2, the antitrust exemption first granted to Major League Baseball (MLB) three decades earlier in ''Federal Baseball Club v ...
'',
* '' One, Inc. v. Olesen'',
* ''Dusky v. United States
''Dusky v. United States'', 362 U.S. 402 (1960), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court affirmed a defendant's right to have a competency evaluation before proceeding to trial.. The Court outlined the basic standards ...
'',
* '' Brandenburg v. Ohio'',
* '' Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education'',
* '' New York Times Co. v. United States'',
* '' Furman v. Georgia'',
* '' Buckley v. Valeo'',
* ''City of New Orleans v. Dukes
''City of New Orleans v. Dukes'', 427 U.S. 297 (1976), was a 1976 United States Supreme Court decision.
Background
The original case involved a 1972 New Orleans ordinance banning all pushcart food vendors in the French Quarter except those who h ...
'',
* '' Bush v. Gore'',
* '' American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock'',
* ''Los Angeles County v. Rettele
The Supreme Court of the United States handed down eight ''per curiam'' opinions during its 2006 term, which began October 2, 2006 and concluded September 30, 2007.The descriptions of two opinions have been omitted:
Because ''per curiam'' decisi ...
'',
The ''per curiam'' practices of the individual United States Courts of Appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals f ...
vary by judicial circuit. The Second Circuit, for instance, issues its nonprecedential decisions as "summary orders" that do not designate an author but are also not labeled as ''per curiam'' opinions; occasionally, the court will issue precedential decisions with a ''per curiam'' designation. In the Third Circuit, by contrast, the majority of both precedential and nonprecedential decisions indicate the authoring judge, and the ''per curiam'' designation is generally, but not exclusively, reserved for dispositions on the court's ''pro se'' and summary action calendar.
State
The Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
occasionally releases decisions in the name of "The Court" but they are not necessarily unanimous. Sometimes, they are accompanied by extensive concurring and dissenting opinions.
The Supreme Court of Florida frequently releases death penalty opinions in a ''per curiam'' form, even if there are concurring and dissenting opinions to the majority.
Many decisions of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court of the State of New York are the intermediate appellate courts in New York State.
There are four Appellate Divisions, one in each of the state's four Judicial Departments (e.g., the full title of the ...
, especially in the First and Second Judicial Departments, do not designate an author. Across the Departments, the ''per curiam'' designation is used in attorney disciplinary decisions.
Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...
uses the term "The Court" instead of ''per curiam''. The practice began around 1979 by Chief Justice Laskin, borrowing from the US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
practice of anonymizing certain unanimous decisions.
However, unlike US courts, which use ''per curiam'' primarily for uncontroversial cases, the Supreme Court tends to attribute decisions to "The Court" in important and controversial cases, to emphasize that the Court is speaking with one voice.[Bzdera, Andre. "Comparative Analysis of Federal High Courts: A Political Theory of Judicial Review" (1993) 26 Canadian Journal of Political Science 3 at 25]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Per Curiam Decision
Judiciaries
Latin legal terminology
Judgment (law)
Works published anonymously