majority opinions
Prevailing judicial declarations
Majority opinions are the official decisions of appellate courts, written by one judge and joined by enough colleagues to constitute a binding ruling.
The term appears most often in discussions of the U.S.
Supreme Court: Justice Marshall wrote the majority opinion in Marbury v. Madison.
Distinguished from concurring opinions (agreeing with the result but for different reasons) and dissenting opinions (disagreeing with the outcome).
More broadly, majority opinions are simply views held by most people in a group: The majority opinion in the office was that the merger would fail.
- popular opinionWidely held belief
- public sentimentPrevailing attitude of society
- collective agreementNegotiated terms between workers and employer
- wisdom of crowdsGroups outpredict individuals
- democratic principlesFoundations of representative government
legal precedent · holding · jurisprudence · landmark rulings · judicial review · social norms · binding precedent · societal expectations · groupthink · mob rule · legal reasoning · shared beliefs · originalism · court opinion · representative democracy · vote · judges · ruling
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