Dictum Meaning in Legal Terms
When Erdmann Neumeister introduced the concept of cantata for church music in Protestant Germany in the early 18th century, his libretti originally featured only two types of movements: recitatives and arias. The text of these movements was the poetic elaboration (i.e. in verse) of religious thought. In Neumeister`s original concept, both types of movements had to be sung by vocal soloists. Soon after, for example in a series of cantata librettoes published in Meiningen in 1704, two other types of movements were combined in the cantata librettos, both from earlier genres such as the choral concerto and the sacred concerto: choirs and dicta. Choral movements usually quote Lutheran hymns. For these movements, it was expected that the composer would base his staging on the melody of the anthem. The dicta were pro-Palestinians of the Holy Scriptures, that is, for the German church cantatas and motets of the Reformation period, quotations from Luther`s Bible. In this context, a saying can also be described with the German word Spruch. Libretto authors such as Neumeister and Benjamin Schmolck began to incorporate dictation and choirs into their later cantata cycles. [2] [3] [4] (4) Look for places where the court discusses a hypothetical situation. Maybe the court will talk about some facts that are not really the facts of the case and discuss what would happen if the law were applied to those hypothetical facts – this is a very good example of dictation.
For example, in the first few weeks of most tort courses, law students read Vosburg v. Putney, 50 N.W. 403 (Wis. 1891). In this case, the court held that the defendant was liable for the battery`s tortious liability because he kicked (or perhaps pushed) the plaintiff`s leg. The facts of the case show that the incident occurred in the classroom after the teacher called the class to order. The court talks about what would have happened if the kick had taken place in the playground rather than in the classroom. Since the kick did not take place on the playing field, this discussion was not necessary for the court`s decision and all legal statements about the hypothetical are dicta. (2) Look for places where the court talks about the history of a legal term. This discussion can help put the law in context (and in fact, you may find it useful in your studies for exactly that reason!), but the history of a common law statute or rule is not necessary to decide the issues in a particular case. Law school has started again, and one of the most frequently asked questions by law students is how to identify dicta (a singularly worded saying) in the cases they read. Black`s Law Dictionary defines the saying as «[a] statement of opinion or belief that is considered authoritative because of the dignity of the person who makes it.» In a court notice, dicta are the court`s statements about the law that were not necessary for the court to decide the case.
DICTUM, Practical. Dicta are judicial opinions expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case. 2. Dictas are considered to be of low authority because of the way they are issued; It often happens that they are given without much thought, at the bar, without prior examination. «Yes,» says Huston, J., in Frants v. Braun, 17 Serg. & Rawle, 292, «General diktat in cases relating to special circumstances must be considered a definition of the law, nothing is yet regulated or can be regulated long ago.» «What I said or wrote, from the trial,» the learned judge continues, «or I will say or write, in the circumstances, perhaps as my opinion at the time, without argument or full consideration; but I will never feel bound by this if the point is exhausting enough and fully argued and taken into account. And I protest against anyone who considers this obiter dicta to be my conscious opinion. And this was examined by another learned judge. M.
Baron Richards, to be a «great misfortune that dictates are taken away by the judges, perhaps wrongly, and then cited as absolute statements.» 1. Phillim. Rep. 1406; S. C. 1 Eng. Ecc. R. 129; Ram. on Judgm. Cap.
5, p. 36; Willes` representative. 666; 1 H. Bl. 53-63; 2 Bos. & p. 375; 7 T. R.
287; 3 B. & A. 341; 2 Bing. 90. The doctrine of the French courts on this subject is set out in paragraph 11. Toull. 177, No. 133. 3. In French law, the report of a judgment of one of the judges who rendered it is called a saying.
Poth. Proc. Civ. Lot 1, c. 5, art. 2. The American jurist John Chipman Gray explained: «For an opinion to have the weight of a precedent. it must be an opinion the formation of which is necessary for the decision of a particular case; In other words, it should not be obiter dictum. Dictas often take the form of unnecessarily broad statements. For example, when a young man deliberately murdered his grandfather to prevent him from revoking a will, the court ruled that the beneficiary was not entitled to the inheritance that the will provided for him, and stated that the law would not allow him to «exploit his own injustice or claim his own injustice.» or to acquire property by his own crime. In a subsequent case involving a legatee who had negligently caused the death of the testator in a car accident, the same result would not necessarily follow.