Holding is the binding decision; what is dicta?

• A. Holding is non-binding; dicta are binding.
• B. Holding is the binding decision; dicta are non-essential statements that are persuasive.
• C. Holding and dicta are both binding.
• D. Dicta are the binding part of the decision.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is the difference between what binds in a court decision and what doesn’t. The holding is the binding part: it states the exact legal rule that decides the case and governs its outcome for the parties involved. Dicta, on the other hand, are statements the court makes that aren’t necessary to resolve the case—they’re observations, explanations, or hypothetical considerations that aren’t essential to the ruling. Because they’re not needed to decide the case, dicta aren’t binding as precedent in the same way the holding is. They can be persuasive and may guide future cases, but they don’t control the outcome here.

So the correct framing is that the holding binds, while dicta are non-essential, persuasive statements.