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The central dictum of the legal profession: "you will have to pry every piece of the leverage I have over you out of my cold, dead hands."
by javajosh 5y ago
The central dictum of the legal profession: "you will have to pry every piece of the leverage I have over you out of my cold, dead hands."
- gnicholas 5y ago> "central dictum" This is an interesting choice of terms, since in the legal world "dictum" typically refers to a statement included in a legal opinion that is not central to the court's holding (decision). The full name is "obiter dictum", meaning "something said in passing", but it's almost always just called "dictum" or "dicta" (plural). So although the ordinary definition of "dictum" is akin to pronouncement/dictate, in the legal context, "dictum" is a term of derogation ("that's just dictum"). To a lawyer, "central dictum" would be a contradiction in terms. Of course, this isn't a legal forum, so there's nothing wrong with what you said. It just causes mental hiccups for those of us afflicted with a legal background!