A judge's statement made during a judgment, but not part of the reason for the decision.

"statement in passing," a judge's expression of opinion not regarded as binding or decisive, Latin, literally "something said incidentally;" see obiter + dictum.

See: dictum

pl: obiter dic·ta [-tə] [Late Latin, literally, something said in passing] : an incidental and collateral remark that is uttered or written by a judge but is not binding : dictum

Obiter dictum (plural obiter dicta) is an opinion or a remark made by a judge which does not form a necessary part of the court's decision. The word obiter dicta is a Latin word which means “thin [..]

Something said in passing parenthetical remark

("a saying by the way"), referring to a finding of law in a decision where that finding was based on issues not properly before the court. It is an opinion expressed by a court upon a question of law which is not necessary to the decision of the case before it. The opposite of "obiter dictum" is "ratio decidendi" (see [..]

Opinion given incidentally. In other words, the opinion or comment is not the reason for the decision in the case.

Latin: an observation by a judge on a matter not specifically before the court or not necessary in determining the issue before the court; a side opinion which does not form part of the judgment for t [..]

Latin, ‘said by the way’. Obiter dictum