Also known as: rationes decidendi · ratio · holding
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle or rule of law on which a court's decision is founded. Later courts extract this principle as the binding element of the precedent while treating extraneous observations as nonbinding dicta.
Rhea Reynolds, a state election official, refuses to certify federal electors appointed under state law. The governing text vests the executive power in a President of the United States. This principle supplies the ratio decidendi that resolves the dispute in favor of federal authority.
Riley Rivera, a local sheriff, is ordered by federal statute to perform handgun purchaser checks. The court rules that the federal government cannot command state officers to administer federal programs. This holding supplies the ratio decidendi that invalidates the statutory requirement.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ryan Roberts, the settlor of a trust, attempts to revoke it without trustee consent. The governing text defines a trust as revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee. This principle forms the ratio decidendi that permits revocation.
Renee Rogers and Roger Ramirez live together and hold themselves out as spouses for several years. The court finds that mutual consent, cohabitation, and public holding out together create a valid marriage. This rule becomes the ratio decidendi that recognizes the marriage.
Regina Robinson, detained without charge during a rebellion, petitions for release. The governing text provides that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. This principle supplies the ratio decidendi that grants the writ.
Rising Sun Electronics challenges a warrantless wiretap of its office phone lines. The court rules that a search occurs when government action violates a person's reasonable expectation of privacy. This test becomes the ratio decidendi that suppresses the evidence.
A court examines the facts presented, the legal issue decided, and the rule of law that the prior court applied to reach its result. Only the principle necessary to the outcome qualifies as the ratio decidendi.
Ratio decidendi is the rule of law essential to the court's decision on the facts before it. Obiter dictum consists of observations or reasoning not required to resolve the case and therefore carries no binding force.
The ratio decidendi supplies the binding precedent that later courts must follow. Distinguishing it from dicta prevents overbroad readings that would extend a holding beyond the facts that produced it.
A later court may articulate the ratio decidendi as the rule it believes the prior court actually applied. This process allows refinement while preserving the principle that was necessary to the original result.
…a Secretary of State to omit the performance of those duties which are enjoined by law. When a commission for an officer not holding his office at the will of the President is by him signed and transmitted to the Secretary of State to be sealed and recorded, it is irrevocable; the appointment is complete. A mandamus is…