precedential
Establishes future rules
Precedential describes something that establishes or serves as a precedent—a prior example that guides future decisions.
The term appears most often in legal contexts, where a precedential ruling becomes binding authority for similar cases: The court's precedential opinion will shape discrimination law for decades.
Non-precedential decisions, by contrast, cannot be cited as authority.
Judge-made legal doctrine
- bindingLegally or morally required
- rulingFormal legal determination
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
opinion · appeal · circuit court · majority · dissent · overrule · reversal · remand
Notable point of reference
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- trailblazingBeing the first through
- first-of-its-kindHaving no prior example
- pathbreakingCreating unprecedented approaches
novel · original · foundational · seminal · watershed · historic · inaugural · revolutionary
Legally or morally required
- determinativeSettling a matter conclusively
- controllingExerting authority over others
- governingControlling with authority
- decisiveQuick to conclude
dispositive · mandatory · directive · regulatory · normative · canonical · definitive · peremptory
Representation or paradigm
- paradigmaticServing as ideal model
- standardLevel of quality accepted
- benchmarkStandard for comparison
- prototypicalServing as prime example
archetypal · canonical · textbook · illustrative · representative · quintessential · definitive · classic
case law
Judge-made legal doctrine
- bindingLegally or morally required
- rulingFormal legal determination
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
doctrine · opinion · appeal · circuit court · majority · dissent · overrule · reversal · remand · amicus
landmark
Notable point of reference
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- trailblazingBeing the first through
- first-of-its-kindHaving no prior example
pathbreaking · novel · original · foundational · seminal · watershed · historic · inaugural · revolutionary
binding
Legally or morally required
- determinativeSettling a matter conclusively
- controllingExerting authority over others
- governingControlling with authority
decisive · dispositive · mandatory · directive · regulatory · normative · canonical · definitive · peremptory · commanding
model
Representation or paradigm
- paradigmaticServing as ideal model
- standardLevel of quality accepted
- benchmarkStandard for comparison
prototypical · archetypal · canonical · textbook · illustrative · representative · quintessential · definitive · classic · guiding
precedentialnon-binding
Not legally enforceable
unpublished · advisory · dicta · unpersuasive · discretionary
precedentialsubsequent
Occurring after something else
junior · following · derivative · secondary · subordinate
precede, precedent, antecedent, precedence, unprecedented, precedents, antecedently, unprecedentedly, precedency