A headnote is a brief summary of a particular

point of law In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by reference ...

that is added to the text of a

court decision In law, a judgment, also spelled judgement, is a decision of a court regarding the rights and liabilities of parties in a legal action or proceeding. Judgments also generally provide the court's explanation of why it has chosen to make a particular ...

to aid readers in locating discussion of a legal issue in an opinion. As the term implies, headnotes appear at the beginning of the

published opinion Non-publication of legal opinions is the practice of a court issuing unpublished opinions. An unpublished opinion is a decision of a court that is not available for citation as precedent because the court deems the case to have insufficient precede ...

. In 1906, the

Supreme Court of the United States 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 o ...

ruled in '' United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co.'' that headnotes have no legal standing and therefore do not set

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

.'' United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co.'',

References

Judicial legal terminology American legal terminology {{vocab-stub

See also

References