Which term refers to an opinion by the court whose author is not identified?

Which term refers to an opinion by the court whose author is not identified?

• A. Memorandum opinion
• B. Out-Card
• C. Per curiam opinion
• D. Pocket Part

Answer: (C)

Unsigned, court-wide opinions are called per curiam. This Latin term means “by the court,” signaling that no single judge is credited with writing the opinion and the ruling is presented as the court’s collective decision. Per curiam decisions are common for routine or unanimous matters where the court wants to issue a ruling without attributing it to a particular justice. The other terms don't convey that aspect of authorship: a memorandum opinion is a shorter decision that may still have an identifiable author, out-card isn’t a standard term for an opinion, and a pocket part is just the supplementary pages in a reporter, not an opinion type.

Unsigned, court-wide opinions are called per curiam. This Latin term means “by the court,” signaling that no single judge is credited with writing the opinion and the ruling is presented as the court’s collective decision. Per curiam decisions are common for routine or unanimous matters where the court wants to issue a ruling without attributing it to a particular justice. The other terms don't convey that aspect of authorship: a memorandum opinion is a shorter decision that may still have an identifiable author, out-card isn’t a standard term for an opinion, and a pocket part is just the supplementary pages in a reporter, not an opinion type.