Narrow rulings are central to the process. It's the difference between a "holding" and "dictum." A court can express an opinion about something, but if that opi

Narrow rulings are central to the process. It's the difference between a "holding" and "dictum." A court can express an opinion about something, but if that opinion wasn't essential to resolve the case before the court, it's nothing more than an opinion, and later/lower courts can ignore that part. http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/legal-miscellaneous/difference-between-holding-and-dictum/ http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/legal-miscell...