What are the different types of Supreme Court opinions, and what is their legal effect?

What are the different types of Supreme Court opinions, and what is their legal effect?

• A. Majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions; only the holding of the majority is binding.
• B. Per curiam opinions have no bearing on holdings.
• C. Majority and concurring opinions only; dissenting opinions are non-binding.
• D. The court issues only a single opinion.

Answer: (C)

The central point is that the binding effect of a Supreme Court decision comes from the holding announced by the majority. The Court can issue a majority opinion that lays out the ruling and its reasoning. Justices who disagree with the outcome may write concurring opinions, agreeing with the result but offering different reasons, or dissenting opinions, explaining why they would rule differently. Neither concurring nor dissenting opinions create new binding law on their own; they are persuasive and can influence future cases, but the rule that actually binds courts is the holding stated in the majority’s decision. Per curiam or unsigned decisions are still decisions of the Court as a whole and carry the binding holding, even if they lack a full authored rationale. So the best description is that the Court issues majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions, with the binding effect resting on the majority’s holding.