An incidental and collateral opinion uttered by a judge. See Dictum, n., 2 (a).
A Latin term: an observation by a judge on a matter not specifically before the court or not necessary in determining the issue before the court; a side opinion which does not form part of the judgment for the purposes of "stare decisis". May also be referred to as "dicta" or "dictum."
Remark by a judge in a legal opinion that is irrelevant to the decision and does not establish precedent . Often used in the plural, dicta.
A judge's comments which are made to illustrate, but are not a direct part of a decision.
A saying by the way Words said in passing by a Judge on a legal point but not constituting part of the evidence or judgment
an incidental remark or observation. In Latin, literally, a remark said in passing. We use this for analysis of scripture in the Church to remind ourselves of the importance of the scripture and the insignificance of the analysis.
an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding
an observation which is not either necessary for the decision of the case or does not relate to the material facts in issue
An observation by a judge in a case which does not require him to make a decision affecting the case
(Latin) of judicial statements, not essential to the decision of the case and therefore without binding authority (pl. obiter dicta)
Opinion of a judge having no direct legal or binding effect on the outcome of a pending judicial decision. An obiter dictum is considered to be an incidental judicial remark about some point that may or may not be directly relevant to the matter before the bench.
An obiter dictum (plural obiter dicta, often referred to simply as dicta), Latin for a statement said "by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision. In a court opinion, obiter dicta include, but are not limited to, words "introduced by way of illustration, or analogy or argument."Black's Law Dictionary p. 967 (5th ed. 1979). Unlike the rationes decidendi, obiter dicta are not the subject of the judicial decision, even if they happen to be correct statements of law.
