Legal Definitions - PER CUR

PER CUR is an abbreviation for Per curiam. This Latin phrase translates to "by the court."

In legal practice, a per curiam opinion refers to a court's decision or ruling that is issued by the court as a whole, rather than being attributed to a specific judge who authored it. It signifies that the opinion represents the collective view of the entire court or a panel of judges. Such opinions are often used for matters that the court considers straightforward, procedural, or requiring a unified statement without individual judicial commentary, and they frequently indicate a unanimous or near-unanimous decision.

Here are some examples of how per curiam decisions might arise:

• Example 1: Procedural Dismissal
  Imagine a state's highest court receives an appeal that was filed several months after the legally mandated deadline. Instead of assigning a specific justice to write a detailed opinion explaining the procedural rules, the court might issue a brief per curiam order simply stating that the appeal is dismissed due to untimeliness, citing the relevant procedural rule.

  Explanation: This illustrates a per curiam decision because the court, acting as a collective body, makes a clear, unanimous ruling on a procedural matter. There's no need for a single judge to elaborate, as the legal principle (filing deadlines) is well-established and the facts regarding the late filing are undisputed. The decision reflects the court's unified application of a basic rule.

• Example 2: Affirming a Clear Precedent
  Consider a case where a lower court's ruling perfectly aligns with a long-standing and undisputed legal precedent from the state's Supreme Court. An appeal is filed, but the appellate court finds no new legal arguments or factual disputes that would warrant overturning the lower court. The appellate court might then issue a per curiam opinion affirming the lower court's judgment, briefly stating that the existing precedent fully governs the case and no error was found.

  Explanation: Here, the per curiam opinion signals that the court collectively agrees that the legal issue is settled and straightforward, requiring no new interpretation or extensive individual judicial analysis. The decision reinforces the existing law through the unified voice of the court, rather than through the specific reasoning of one judge.