Obiter Dictum

part of a legal ruling that is not directly decided as the issue that was brought before a court

An obiter dictum (plural obiter dicta, often referred to simply as dicta), Latin for a statement "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision. In a court opinion, obiter dicta include, but are not limited to, words "introduced by way of illustration, or analogy or argument." Unlike the rationes decidendi, obiter dicta are not the subject of the judicial decision, even if they happen to be correct statements of law. Under the doctrine of stare decisis, statements constituting obiter dicta are therefore not binding, although in some jurisdictions, such as England and Wales, they can be strongly persuasive.
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Noun
1. an incidental remark
(synonym) passing comment
(hypernym) remark, comment
2. an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding
(synonym) dictum
(hypernym) opinion, legal opinion, judgment, judgement
(classification) law, jurisprudence

obiter dictum, part of a legal ruling that is not directly decided as the issue that was brought before a court

Latin: an observation by a judge on a matter not specifically before the court or not necessary in determining the issue before the court; a side opinion which does not form part of the judgment for the purposes of stare decisis - (read more on Obiter dictum)