Legal Definition and Related Resources of Precedent

A judgment or decision of a court of law considered as an authority for deciding a similar state of facts in the same manner or on the same principles, or by analogy . under the doctrine of stare decisis , decided cases which lay down a rule of law are authoritative and must be followed. In the absence of such a principle, judges will be at liberty to decide each case as they think right ; such a liberty would only result in a completely uncertain law in which no citizen would know his rights or liabilities until he knew before what judge his case would come. See Hertz v Woodman, 218 U.S. 205, 30 S. Ct. 621, 54 L.Ed. 1001. A subordinate court is bound by the decision of a superior court . The prior decisions of the same court are generally binding on same. However, courts have frequently departed from their prior decisions for various reasons. The criteria for a deviation from an earlier decision is that such a deviation is necessary to achieve justice. Humthlett, v Reeves, 211 Ga. 210, 85 S. E.2d 25, In conveyancing, a precedent is a copy of an instrument used as a guide in preparing another instrument of a similar description.

noun

• archetype
• authoritative example
• authoritative ru authority
• authortative decision
• authortative prin: _ of law
• basis
• criterion
• example
• exemplum
• frame of reference
• guide
• judicial antecedent
• juscication
• maxim
• model
• model instance
• preceding instance
• precept
• precurpredecessor
• prior instance
• rule
• rule for futurt determinations
• rule for future guidance
• standar: Associated Concepts: collateral estoppel
• cond: precedent
• controlling authority
• precedent sub lentio
• res judicata
• stare decisis

Browse or run a search for Precedent in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Precedent in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Precedent in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Precedent in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Mentioned in these terms

Authority, Closed Shop, Condition, Entire Contract, , Law Of The Case, Preliminary, Remainderman, Restraint Of Marriage, Stare Decisis.

Precedent in other One-L Dictionary

A decided case that furnishes a basis for determining later cases involving similar facts or issues. Precedent is a binding on the same court or on a lower court in the same jurisdiction. See also “stare decisis”

Precedent from the Washington and Lee University School of Law Dictionary.

Precedent in the One-L Dictionary

A judicial decision that a court should follow when deciding a similar case. To serve as a precedent for a current case, a prior decision must have a similar legal issue and a similar factual scenario. Our common law system is based upon precedent as courts seek to decide current cases on the basis of legal principles established in prior similar or analogous cases.

Note: This Precedent definition in the One-L Dictionary for new law students is from Harvard Law School (HLS).

Translate Precedent from English to Spanish

Translation of Precedent , with examples. More about free online translation into Spanish of Precedente (translation provided by Hoague Cabanellas and Varo Hughes) and other legal terms is available here.

• Precedente (translation provided by Hoague Cabanellas and Varo Hughes)
• Precedente judicial (translation provided by Hoague Cabanellas)
• Precedente jurisprudencial(translation provided by Hoague Cabanellas)
• Legal English Translation

See also

Binding Precedent in the American legal Encyclopedia

Precedent in the law of the United States

Precedent: Related U.S. Resources

• Precedent in the American Law Encyclopedia
• Judicial Function Keywords in the U.S. Legal Corpus
• Judicial Function Topics in the United States Legal Dictionary

See Also

Common Law (Judicial Function) obiterdictum, 276 Ratio Decidendi (Judicial Function) Stare Decisis (Judicial Function), 34.

Resources

See Also

Law Dictionaries.

Case Law; Court Opinion.

Precedent in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of precedent.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• precedent in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• precedent in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

Definition of Precedent

A prior reported judgment of a court which establishes the legal rule (authority) for future cases on similar facts or the same legal question. It is also a legal principle or rule created by one or more decisions of a higher court. These rules provide a point of reference or authority for judges deciding similar issues in later cases. Lower courts are bound to apply these rules when faced with similar legal issues.

Precedent Meaning in the U.S. Court System

A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court. Judges—following the common-law tradition—will generally “follow precedent.” They use the principles established in earlier cases to decide new cases that have similar facts and raise similar legal issues. A judge will disregard precedent if a party can show that the earlier case was wrongly decided, or that it differed in some significant way from the current case. Lower courts must follow precedents set by the decisions of higher courts.

Meaning of Precedent in the U.S. Legal System

Definition of Precedent published by the National Association for Court Management: A previously decided case that guides the decision of future cases.

Precedent (Judicial Function)

Precedent

Precedent