Legal methodsLesson 1 of 1 in the course Case law and precedent

Judicial Precedent: Authority, Interpretation, and Legal Change

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Precedent is a prior judicial decision that helps courts decide later cases with similar facts or legal issues. This lesson introduces precedent, its role in common law, and the main ways courts handle earlier decisions.

A precedent is a judicial decision that provides authority or guidance for deciding a later case. A collection of precedents and legal principles established by earlier decisions is known as case law.

All flashcards

Precedent
An earlier judicial decision used as authority or guidance when deciding a later case.
Case law
The body of legal principles established through judicial decisions.
Stare decisis
The principle of adhering to relevant earlier judicial decisions.
Distinguishing a case
Treating an earlier decision as non-controlling because a material difference affects the analysis.
Overruling and modifying
Overruling rejects an earlier legal rule in a later case; modifying changes part of a decision in the same case, commonly on a higher court's order.

Quiz questions

  1. What is persuasive precedent?Answer: A decision a court may consider but is not required to follow.
  2. What does vertical stare decisis describe?Answer: Lower courts following relevant decisions of higher courts in the same hierarchy.
  3. When a U.S. state court decides an issue of federal law, which court's rulings bind it?Answer: The rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court.
  4. In some common law systems, what does it mean to treat a precedent as per incuriam?Answer: The decision involved a material oversight, such as missing binding authority or a relevant statute.
  5. What is jurisprudence constante in civil law systems?Answer: A consistent line of decisions that is highly persuasive but not formally controlling.

Based on the Wikipedia article Precedent, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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