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Dictum

In common law legal terminology a dictum (plural dicta) is any statement that forms a part of the judgment of a court, in particular a court whose decisions have value as precedent under the doctrine of stare decisis.

Conceptually, dicta are divided into two types. Ratio decidendi are those which form a part of the reason for the decision, and are binding as precedent. Obiter dicta are those which are not binding, but are merely editorializing, or explanatory. The word dicta standing alone is often used as a synonym for obiter dicta, although this usage is not technically correct.

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Not Dictum:
I've heard some people argue that the Ninth Circuit's holding (in Nordyke v. King) that the Second Amendment is incorporated against the states was "dictum" -- and thus not really legally...

holding or dictum?
A post on Prawfsblog about yesterday's age-discrimination-employment-retaliation case, Gomez-Perez v. Potter, makes an interesting observation about Justice Alito's rather casual use of the word "holding" to refer to a point that most of us would classify as dictum...

Courts - Meaning of "dictum"?
No surprises here, IMHO. Lawrence Solum of the Legal Theory Blog notes that:Josh Blackman (George Mason University - School of...

Blackman on the Distinction between Dictum & Holding
Josh Blackman (George Mason University - School of Law) has posted Much Ado About Dictum; or, How to Evade Precedent Without Really Trying: The Distinction between Holding and Dictum on SSRN...

Is Nordyke's 2A/14A section holding or dictum?
Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Prof. Volokh argues that Nordyke's finding that the 14th Amendment incorporates the 2nd Amendment is part of its holding, and not dictum...

Darwin?s Dictum ? ?all observations must be for or against some view if they are to be of any service?
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