Legal opinion
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Legal opinions |
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Majority opinion |
In law, (particularly in North America) an opinion is usually a written explanation by a judge that accompanies their ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles that led them to rule as they did. Opinions are usually published at the direction of the court, and to the extent they contain pronouncements about what the law is and how it should be interpreted, they reinforce, change, establish, or overturn legal precedent. If a court decides that an opinion should be published, the opinion is included in a volume from a series of books called law reports (or reporters in the United States).
Another kind of legal opinion is written by attorneys. It is a formal written statement an attorney prepares for a client, stating the lawyer's reasoned belief about what the law is, how a court would interpret it, or how it applies to specific circumstances posed by the client.
In the United Kingdom and other common law countries, a legal opinion normally refers to written legal advice on a point of law issued by either a barrister (often referred to as "counsel's opinion") or occasionally a senior government law officer, such as the Attorney General. The latter form of opinion is sometimes made available to the public either because of public pressure (see for example Lord Goldsmith's opinion on the legality of the invasion of Iraq), or because a general clarification of the law is called for (see for example, the Yorke-Talbot slavery opinion).
Several areas of commercial practice call for formal legal opinions of counsel. The Legal Aid scheme in the United Kingdom requires a legal opinion showing reasonable prospects for success before the Legal Aid board will fund any claim. Insurance policies for professional negligence will frequently require an opinion of counsel before the insurer is required to pay out on any putative claim (sometimes called a QC clause, when it must be an opinion of leading counsel).
[edit] Memorandum opinion
Not every case decided by a higher court results in the publication of an opinion; in fact most do not, since an opinion is usually only published when the law is being interpreted in a novel way, or the case is a high-profile matter of general public interest and the court wishes to make the details of its ruling public. In the majority of cases, the judges issue what is called a memorandum decision that indicates how state or federal law applies to the case and affirms or reverses the decision of the lower court. A memorandum opinion does not establish legal precedent or re-interpret the law, and cannot be invoked in subsequent cases to justify a ruling. Opinions, on the other hand, always establish a particular legal interpretation.
