Legal Definitions - Unanimous

Definition: When everyone agrees on something, it is called unanimous. This can happen when a group of people all have the same opinion or decision. For example, if a jury in a court case all agree on a verdict, it is a unanimous decision.

Unanimous can also be used to describe when all judges in a court case agree on a decision. This is called a unanimous opinion. It means that no judge disagreed with the decision.

Examples:

• All of the students in the class voted unanimously to have a pizza party.
• The jury reached a unanimous decision and found the defendant guilty.
• The Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in the case, meaning all of the judges agreed on the decision.

The examples show situations where everyone involved agreed on something. In the first example, all of the students in the class wanted a pizza party. In the second example, all of the jurors agreed that the defendant was guilty. In the third example, all of the judges in the Supreme Court agreed on the decision in the case. In each situation, there was complete agreement between all parties involved.