Sub silentio explained

Sub silentio is a legal Latin term meaning "under silence" or "in silence". It is often used as a reference to something that is implied but not expressly stated. Commonly, the term is used when a court overrules the holding of a case without specifically stating that it is doing so.^[1]

References

• "Precedents - Sub Silentio: The Lurking Problem" in "Note" [1954] 29 New York University Law Review 1122
• G W Paton, "Decisions per Incuriam" [1948-1950] 4 Res Judicatae 7
• Barry Friedman, "The Wages of Stealth Overruling (with Particular Attention to Miranda v. Arizona)" (2010) 99 Georgetown Law Journal 1 (No 1, November 2010)

Notes and References

1. Adkins v. Children's Hospital, 261 U.S. 525, 564 (1923) (CJ. Taft, dissenting) ("It is impossible for me to reconcile the Bunting Case and the Lochner Case, and I have always supposed that the Lochner Case was thus overruled sub silentio. Yet the opinion of the court herein in support of its conclusion quotes from the opinion in the Lochner Case as one which has been sometimes distinguished but never overruled.")