Obiter dicta

• What does obiter dicta mean?

  Other words said by the judge in the judgement
• What does a judgement contain?

  the verdict, ratio decidendi and obiter dicta
• what is obiter dicta?

  Often what a judge says to help explain or illustrate his decision but does not form part of the ratio decidendi
• What is the nature of Obiter dicta as a precedent?

  It is a persuasive precedent for future cases which must consider it but are not bound to follow it
• In Hill v Baxter how did the judge use a hypothetical example?

  The judge gave a hypothetical example of swarm of bees to explain when automatism can be used
• Did the example in Hill v Baxter apply to the case in court?

  This example did not apply to the case in court, it was the judge's way of explaining when the defence could be used
• What happened in Howe?

  D committed murder under duress but their defence failed
• What was the ratio decidendi in Howe?

  duress cannot be used for murder
• what was the obiter dicta in Howe?

  It should not be allowed for attempted murder
• What happened in Gotts?

  D committed attempted murder and claimed duress
• How did the obiter dicta from Howe become binding precedent in Gotts?

  the obiter dicta from Howe was used and duress for attempted murder failed. This turned obiter dicta into ratio decidendi.