Opinion

A magistrate's documented rationale for the ruling of the court. Since a case may be adjudicated by three or more magistrates in the appellate court, the judgment in appellate rulings can manifest in various forms. If all the magistrates fully concur on the outcome, one magistrate will compose the judgment for all. If there is disagreement among the magistrates, the official ruling will reflect the perspective of the majority, and one member of that majority will draft the judgment. The magistrates who do not align with the majority may write separately in dissenting or concurring judgments to express their perspectives. A dissenting judgment opposes the majority judgment due to differing reasoning and/or legal principles employed by the majority to resolve the case. A concurring judgment aligns with the decision of the majority judgment but provides additional commentary or clarification or even an entirely different rationale for arriving at the same conclusion. Only the majority judgment can act as binding precedent in subsequent cases. See also precedent.