a per curiam opinion
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per curiam opinion.
Not necessarily. The US Supreme Court sometimes issues per curiam opinions that are binding (on the instant case) but unsigned; however, these decisions do not set precedent for future cases.
per curiam
All published opinions (majority, concurring, dissenting, etc.) except per curiam (unsigned opinions) may be cited as precedent. Supreme Court opinions supersede all lower court opinions, and set binding precedents which both federal and state courts* are supposed to adhere to under the doctrine of stare decisis.* US Supreme Court decisions only apply to state courts if they involve incorporated parts of the Bill of Rights or other applicable amendments.
Regardless of the US Supreme Court's decision, there is no guarantee any type of opinion will be written. Per curiam (unsigned) decisions -- which are reasonably common -- seldom include full written opinions. About 20% of the US Supreme Court's decisions lack any written opinion; many simply affirm a lower court's decision without comment, or remand a case to a lower court for further action in light of a particular cited decision.Other cases may include only a majority opinion (the "opinion of the Court"), because there is no requirement for the minority to write a dissenting opinion. There are many examples of split-votes that lack dissenting opinions, and some even include a concurring opinion from a member of the majority.If this is a homework question, the expected (but incorrect) answer is majority and dissenting.