Legal Definitions - concurrence

Concurrence generally refers to agreement or assent. In legal contexts, it often describes situations where different parties or branches of government agree on an outcome, even if their reasoning or path to that outcome differs.

Specifically, "concurrence" can refer to:

• A judge's vote in favor of a court's final decision, even if the judge's legal reasoning for reaching that decision differs from the majority. The judge may then write a separate explanation called a concurring opinion.
• The acceptance by one legislative body (like the House of Representatives) of an amendment or change made to a bill by the other legislative body (like the Senate).

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of concurrence:

• Imagine a case before a state's highest court where the majority of justices decide to overturn a lower court's conviction. Justice Chen agrees with the final decision to overturn the conviction, but she believes the majority's legal justification for doing so relies on an outdated interpretation of a state statute. She casts her vote to overturn the conviction, but also writes a separate concurring opinion explaining her alternative legal reasoning based on a more modern statutory interpretation.

  This illustrates concurrence because Justice Chen agrees with the ultimate outcome of the case (overturning the conviction) but not with the specific legal arguments or reasoning presented by the majority of the court. Her separate written explanation is a concurring opinion.

• Consider a new federal infrastructure bill that originates in the House of Representatives and passes. It then moves to the Senate, which adds several amendments, including a significant change to how funding will be allocated to specific states. For the bill to become law, the House of Representatives must then vote to accept, or concur with, the Senate's amendments. If the House votes to concur, the bill, now incorporating the Senate's changes, can proceed to the President for signature.

  This demonstrates concurrence in a legislative context. The House's vote to accept the Senate's changes signifies their agreement to the modifications made by the other legislative chamber, allowing the legislative process to move forward.