Per Curiam Definition:

Cochran's Law Lexicon translates the Latin phrase as:

"By the court."

Rapalje and Lawrence add:

"Per curiam. By the court.

"A phrase frequently used in the reports to distinguish a decision or opinion of the court from that of a single judge.

"Per curiam decisions are generally shorter and less argumentative than those rendered by a single judge, as representative of the majority of the court."

REFERENCES:

• Gilmer, Wesley, Cochran's Law Lexicon, 5th Ed. (Cincinnati: W.H. Anderson Company, 1973), page 225.
• Rapalje, Stewart and Lawrence, Robert, A Dictionary of American and English Law, Volume II (Jersey City: Frederick D. Linn & Co. Law Publishers and Booksellers, 1883).