Free US Law Dictionary

Per Curiam

In law, a per curiam decision (or opinion) is a ruling handed down by a court with multiple judges in which the decision rendered was made by the court acting as a whole. The literal meaning of this Latin term is "by the court". However, per curiam decisions are not the only type of decision that can reflect the opinion of the court, but other types of decisions can also reflect the opinion of the court as a whole, even if not issued in per curiam form.