Supreme Court Opinions, 1886-

This series contains the typed, signed copies of opinions of the justices of the Utah Supreme Court. Opinions show the date of filing, name and signature of authoring justice, case title, case number, and the text of the opinion. Opinions are the written decisions of the Court. They typically summarize the facts in the case, the lower court findings, and the issues of law which are in dispute. The opinion will then explain the applicable law, leading to the Court's decision. Opinions typical end with an order which affirms, reverses, or amends the lower court ruling. A reversed or vacated judgment may then be remanded to the lower court for additional proceedings in line with the Supreme Court's ruling.

There are three basic types of opinions. The Court's opinion, also called the majority opinion, reflects the decision of the Court and the Court's reasons for the decision. All cases which are decided have a majority opinion. If the majority opinion is not unanimous, a justice whodisagrees may write a dissenting opinion which outlines how he feels the case should have been decided and where the majority opinion strayed. A justice who disagrees with the reasoning in the majority opinion, but accepts the final conclusion, may write a concurring opinion. It is possible to find opinions which concur in part and dissent in part, if there is a complicated case with several issues to be resolved. These are more common in the U. S. Supreme Court and seem very rare in the Utah opinions described here.