An old pastime is trying to figure out which Justice was the principal author of a per curiam opinion. I recently speculated that Chief Justice Roberts wrote the per curiam opinion in Gonzales v.

Ira P. Robbins is the Barnard T. Welsh Scholar and Professor of Law and Justice at American University, Washington College of Law. The full version of his article, Hiding Behind the Cloak of ...

It doesn’t take long for those who read judicial opinions to come across an unsigned, “per curiam” decision. Many decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts, and our state Supreme ...

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SCOTUSBlog published my new essay, titled Invisible majorities: Counting to nine votes in per curiam cases. Here is the introduction: When the Supreme Court issues a signed opinion, each of the nine ...

We all know that “per curiam” means “by the court.” But, to echo a 1960s hippie-type, what does “per curiam” really mean, man? What message, if any, is an appellate court conveying by issuing an ...

We collaborate with the world's leading lawyers to deliver news tailored for you. Sign Up for any (or all) of our 25+ Newsletters. Some states have laws and ethical rules regarding solicitation and ...

One of Jeff Sessions's shots at Sotomayor this morning concerned the fact that the Ricci opinion was per curiam — that is, issued by the majority as a whole, without the name of a judge attached. "I ...