legal precedents
Past court decisions
Legal precedents are past court decisions that guide how similar cases should be decided.
Under the principle of *stare decisis*, courts follow earlier rulings on comparable legal questions, creating consistency in the law.
Landmark precedents shape entire areas of law: The case set a precedent for privacy rights.
Lawyers cite precedents to argue their cases; judges distinguish unfavorable ones or, rarely, overturn them.
- case lawJudge-made legal doctrine
- overrulingNullifying by superior power
- judicial reviewCourts invalidating unconstitutional acts
- constitutional lawLegal principles from founding documents
- lower courtTribunal subject to appeal
appeals court · jurisprudence · landmark rulings · test case · court rulings · judicial activism · overturned · courtroom · gavel · briefs · verdict · common law · authority · bench · binding · attorneys · Supreme Court · doctrine
- legal systemattorney, landmark cases, criminal cases, lawyers, civil cases
- appealsappeal, appellate court, court rulings, case law, judicial review
legal precedentsstatutes
Formally enacted laws
legislation · statutory law · constitutional provisions · written law · executive orders