Legal Definitions - per curiam

Definition: Per curiam is a Latin term that means "by the court." It refers to a court opinion that is issued in the name of the court rather than specific judges.

A per curiam decision is a court opinion that does not identify any specific judge who may have written the opinion. Instead, it is issued in the name of the court as a whole. These opinions tend to be short and deal with issues that the court views as relatively non-controversial.

For example, in Wood v. Bartholomew, the Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision that affirmed a lower court's ruling that a prisoner's habeas corpus petition was untimely. In Kimberlin v. Quinlin, the Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision that affirmed a lower court's ruling that a prisoner's civil rights claim was barred by the statute of limitations.

Per curiam decisions are not always unanimous and non-controversial. For example, in Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court issued a majority per curiam opinion that was controversial and contained additional opinions.

Overall, per curiam decisions are relatively rare. On average, the Supreme Court issued per curiam decisions in only 7% of cases between 1946 and 2012. In the 2016 term, the Supreme Court issued 9 per curiam decisions out of a total of 70 cases.

While some legal scholars advocate against the concept of per curiam opinions, they remain an important part of the court's decision-making process.