dissenting opinion

noun

Law.

1. (in appellate courts) an opinion filed by a judge who disagrees with the majority decision of a case.

When To Use

What is a dissenting opinion?

When one or more judges on a panel disagree with a decision made by the majority in a court ruling, they can file an official disagreement known as a dissenting opinion.In the United States and other jurisdictions, courts that decide appeals to the decisions of lower courts are called appellate courts (in the U.S., the Supreme Court is the top appellate court). In such courts, rulings are made by a panel of judges, with a majority vote deciding each case. Any judge who doesn’t vote with the majority can file a dissenting opinion (or simply dissent) explaining why they disagree.In a general sense, a dissenting opinion is simply an opinion that does not agree with others—especially one that goes against a mainstream opinion. But the term is most often used in its specific legal sense. Dissenting opinions are part of the legal tradition in many countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Ireland. Dissenting opinions are very often discussed in relation to the U.S. Supreme Court, since such opinions can have a significant impact on future court rulings.