Ryan Hammill of the Ancient Language Institute, whom I consulted in writing this article, told me that Lingua Latina is best used at college age and above, because of the speed with which it moves through concepts. For younger students, he highly recommends Picta Dicta: its Latin Primer series for older elementary, and its Latin Grammar for middle and high school.

Dicta Dicta refers to anything that isn't relevant to the case's holding. Often judges will use a case to expound upon their theories of the law. The theories may not be relevant to the case at hand, but it gives the judge a chance to give direction to the lower courts by putting the theory in writing. Dicta does not carry weight as a precedent. But it's useful to note how the court might have ruled given a different set of circumstances.