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A dissenting opinion explains and records the thinking of those
justices who did not agree with the majority.
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According to Dr. Thomas R. O'Connor of Wesleyan College, a dissenting
opinion has the following purposes:
"A justice who disagrees with the majority can write or join in either
a dissenting or concurring opinion. A dissenting opinion has the
purpose of trying to persuade colleagues to change their minds, and is
usually distributed in conference among all the justices before the
final opinion is written. A dissenting opinion can also serve the
purpose of setting the stage for later Supreme Court decisions. In
exceptional cases, a dissenting opinion can also urge Congress to
overturn the Supreme Court's interpretation of a law. Often, there
are multiple dissenters, but if there is group dissent, one of the
dissenters must be recorded as the senior dissenter. Dissents usually
lead to concurring opinions as a defensive tactic. If there are as
many as four dissents, three concurring opinions are usually written."
Above is from the website of Dr. Thomas R. O Connor
http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/410/supremecourt.htm
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For a brief definition of a dissenting opinion, see the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissenting_opinion
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Thank you for the opportunity to research your interesting question.
- Hammer
Search Strategy
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"dissenting opinion" "supreme court"
"minority opinion" "supreme court"
Additional Information
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United States Supreme Court
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
United States Supreme Court procedures
http://usgovinfo.about.com/blctprocedures.htm |
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