Obiter
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
By the way; in passing. An opinion of - a judge, expressed merely by the way, in course of argument or as illustration, not a decision upon a question arising in the case besimply dictum (q. v. ), and is sometimes said to be obiter. Such opinions are not considered authoritative; nor would they be received as such by the court, if the question on which they had been expressed came up at a subsequent period for judgment. They are only of importance commensurate with the reputation of the judge delivering them. Trayn. Max.