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American Government / Unit 9   Gov 426 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Opinions of the Court

Captions available

The idea

A Supreme Court ruling arrives as opinions: a majority opinion that decides, with concurrences and dissents alongside.

In practice

A concurrence agrees with the outcome on different reasoning; a dissent disagrees on the record.

Where people slip

Only the majority opinion is law; the others are argument preserved for later.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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