dictionary

precedent (pra-seed-ant aiso pres-o-dant), adj. Preced-ing in time or order <condition precedent>.

precedent (pres-e-dant), n. 1. The making of law by a court in recogmzing and applying new rules while administering justice. [Cases: Courts’ «=>87. C.J.S. Courts §§ 135-136.] 2. A detided case. that fumisnes a basis for determining tater cases jnvolving similar facts or issues. See stare decisis. [Cases: Courts «=>89.

- C.J.S. Courts §§ 139-140,    144-146,    161-164,

166-167.] — precedential, adj.

“In law a precedent ls an adjudged case or dedslon of a court of lustlce, consldered as fumishlng a rule or authority for the determlnatłon of an Identica! or slmllar case after-wards arislng, or of a slmllar ąuestfon of law. The only thecry on which It ls possibte for ono dedslon to be an authority for another b that the facts are alike, or, H the facts ara dlfferent, that the principia whlch govemed the first case ls appllcable to the variartt facts." William M. Ule et al._t Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 288 (3d ed. 1914).

"A precedent ...ba Judldal dedslon whlch contalns In Itserf a prindple. The undertyfng princfpfe whlch thus forms Its authoritathre element ls often termed the rado decfdendl. The concrete dedslon fs blndlng between the parties to it, but it b the abatract raiło decfdendl whlch alone has the force of law as regards the worid at latge.’’ John Salmond, Jurfsprudence 191 (Glamilla L Williama ed., 10th ed. 1947).

“One may say, roughly, that a case becomes a precedent onfy for such a generał rule as b necesaary to the actual dedslon reached, when shcrn of unessentlal clrcum-stances." 1 James Parker Hall, Introduction, American Law and Procedura xłvitl (1952).

“One may often accord respect to a precedent not by embradng It with a frozen logie but by drawing from Its thought the elements of a new pattem of dedslon." Lon L Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 151 (1868).

binding precedent. A precedent that a court must follow. • For exaraple, a lower court is bound by an applicable holding of a higher court in the same jurisdiction. — Also termed outhorUatioe precedent; binding authority. Cf. imperatwe authority under authority (4). [Cases: Courts ®=88, 107. C.J.S. Courts §§ 139, 165, 175; Cńminal Law § 1665; Trade-Marks. Trade-Names, and Unfair Compelition § 187.]

declaratory precedent. A precedent that is merely the application of an already existing legał rule.

original precedent. A precedent that creates and applies a new legał rule.

pertuasioe precedent. A precedent that is not binding on a court, but that is entitled to respect and careful consideration. • For example, if the case was decided in a neighboring jurisdiction, the court might evaluate the earlier court’s reasoning without being bound to decide the same way. [Cases: Courts «=>89, 96(5), 97(1, 5). C.J.S. Courts §§ 139-140,    144-146,    152-153,    158-159,

161-164, 166-167.]

precedent sub silentio (sab sa-Ien-shee-oh). A legał auestion that was neither argued nor explicitly aiscussed in a judidal decision but that seems to have been silently ruled on and might therefore be treated as a precedent.

3. doctrine of precedent. 4. A form of pleading or property-conveyandng instrument- • Precedents are often compiled in book form and used by lawyers as guides for preparing similar documenis.

"Collectfons of Precedents have ercisted from very earty times. In thb connection precedents must not be confused with Judldal precedents or case tew. We refer here slmpły to commoo-foim Jnstnimenta compiled for use In praeflee, whereby the lawyer can be morę or less certaln that he b using the correct phraseotogy tor the partłeufar case before him. They ware used bom in comreyandng and BtJga-

tion____tf te tnteresting to notę that these precedents were

apparently among the Tiret legał worka to be pubtished after prtnting was Introduced. Cdlectkrns of conveyancing precedents contlnued to be brought up to datę or new volumes

Issued ____" AK.R. Kiralfy, Potteris Outflnes of Bngllsh

beaal Hlstory 42-43 (8th ed. 1958).

ratio decidendi (ray-shee-oh des-a-den-dl), n. [Latin “the reason for dedding"] 1. The prindple or rule of law on which a court’s decision is founaed <many poorly written judicial opinions do not contain a clearly ascertainable ratio decidendi>. 2. The rule of law on which a later court thinks that a previous court fbunded its decision; a generał nile without which a case must have been dedded otherwise <this opinion recognizes the Supreme Court’s ratio decidendi in the school desegfegation cases>; — Often shortened to. ratio. PI. rationes decidendi (ray-shee-oh-neez des-e-den-di). Cf. obiter dictum; holding a>.

“The phrase *the ratio decidendi of a case’ te sllghtly amblguoua. It may mean elther (1) the nile that the ]udge who decided the case fntended to fay down and apply to the facts, or (2) the ruta that a later court concedes him to have had the power to lay down.” Gtanviite Williama, Laam-ing the Law 75 (11th ed. 1S82).

'There are ... two sfeps lnvołved In the ascertalnment of

the ratio decidendi____First, It Is necessary to determlne

all the facts of the case as seen by thejudge; secondly, it te necessary to d!scover whlch cf thosa facts were treated as materiał by the judge." Rupert Cross & J.W. Harris, Precedent b English Law 65-66 (4th ed. 1991).

obiter (oh-bit-ar), adv. [Latin “by the way”] Incidental-ly; in passing < the judge said, obiter, that a nominał sentence would be inappropriate>.

obiter, n. See obiter dictum.

obiter dictum (ob-i-tar dik-tem). [Latin “something said in passing’’] A judicial comment mado while delivering a judicial opinion, but one that is unnec-essary to the dedsion in the case and therefore not precedential (although it may be considered persua-sive). — Often shortened to dictum or, less common-ly, obiter. PI. obiter dicta. See dictum. Cf. holding «>; ratio decidendi. [Cases: Courts «=»92. C.J.S. Courts §§ 142-143.]

"Strfctly speaking an 'obiter dictum’ te a remark madę or opinion expressed by a Judge, In his dedslon upon a causa, 'by the way' — that te, loddentally or collateraily, and not cflrectly upoń the question before the court; or ft te any statement of tew enundated by the judge or court merely by way cf lllustration, argument, analogy. or sugges-tJoo— In the common speech of lawyers, alf such ertraju-didal axprasslons of legał opinion are refarred to as ‘dicta,’ or ‘obiter dicta,' these two terms being used Interchange-abty.” Witem M. Ute et aJ._t Brief Making and the Use ot Law Books 304 (3d ed. 1914).

holding, n. 1. A court’s determination of a matter of law pivotal to its decision; a prindple drawn from such a dedsion. Cf. obiter dictum. [Cases: Courts <&=>88. C.J.S. Courts § 139; Trade-Marhs, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competilion § 187.] 2. A ruling on evi-dence or other ąuestions presented at trial. 3. (usu. pi) Legally owned property, esp. land or securities. 4. Hist. In feuda) law, tenure.

stare decisis (stahr-ee di-si-sis or stair-ee), n. [Latin “to stand by things dedded"] The doctrine of precedent, under which it is necessary for a court to follow earlier judldal dedsions when the same points arise again in litigation. See precedent; non quieta movere. Cf. res judicata; law of the case; (in avil law) jurisprudence constanU under jurisprudence. [Cases: Courts <3=»89. C.J.S. Courts §§ 139-140, 144-146, 161-164, 166-167.]

"The rule of adherence to judldal precedents flnds Its expression In the doctrine of stare dectels. Thte doctrine te slmpły that, when a point or prindple of tew has been pace offidaily dedded or settledf by the ruling of a competent court (n. a^ case In whlch ft ls dłredły and necessarily lnvolved,1t win no [ooger tte consldered as open to exami-nation or,to a new nilng.by.the same tribunal, or by those whlch are'bound to follow Its adjudlcations, unless It be for urgert reasons and in exceptfonal cases.” William M. Ule et al., Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 321 (3d ed. 1914).

"The generał orthodox Interpretation of stare decisis ... ls stare radonlbus decidendis (‘keep to the rationes decidendi of past cases*), but a narrower and mora literał Interpretation te sometimes emptoyed. To appredate thte narrower Interprefation it te necessary to refer ... to Lord Halsburyte assertion that a case te only authority for what it actually deddes. We saw that sftuatiorts can ansa In whlch all that te blndlng te the dedslon. Accord Ing to Lord Retd, such a siti tation arises when the redo decidendi of a prevlous case te obscure, out of accord with authority or estabflshed prindple, or too broadły expressed.” Rupert Cross & J.W. Harris, Precedent In English Law 100-01 (4th ed. 1991).

stare decisis et non miieta tnouere (stair-ee di-si-sis et non kwi-ee-ta mon-veer-ee). [Latin] To stand by things dedded, and not to disturb setded points. See STARE DECISIS.

di Stingu Ish, vb. 1. To notę a significant factual, proce* dural, or legał difference in (an earlier case), usu. to minimize the case*s precedential effect or to show that it is inapplicable <the lawyer distinguished the . dted case from the case at bar>.    ^:s>

"In praetfee, courts do not concede to thelr predecessors the power of laying down very wlde rules; they reserva to themsehres the power to narrow such rules by introdudng Into them partlcular facts of the precedent case that were treated by the earlier court as bretovant Thte proce ss ls known as ‘dtetlngutehlng.’" John Salmond. Jurtspntdence 192 (Gtomrllte L Williams ed., KRh ed. 1947).

2. To make a distinction <the court distinguished between willful and reckless conduct>. — distinction, n.

overrule, vb. 1. To rule against; to reject <the judge overruled all of the defendant’s objections>. 2. (Of a court) to overtum or set aside (a precedent) by expressly dedding that it should no longer be controlling law <in Brown v. Board of Educaiion, the Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson>. Cf. va-cate (i). [Cases: Courts «=»100(1). C.J.S. Courts §§ 147-148.]

"If a dedslon te not a recent one, and especłaiły U It seems to be very poor, it should not be relted upon wfthcut ascertalnlng whether It may not have been expressty or Impiledly ovenu!ed by some subseauent one; that te, whether the court may not have lalo down a contrary

prindple In a later case." Frank Hall Chllds, Where and How to Find the Law 94 (1922).

"Overruling te an ad of superior Jurisdiction. A precedent ovenruled te defmltely and formatly deprived of all authority. It becomes nuli and vołd, llke a repeafed statute, and a new prindpte te authoritathrely substituted for the old." John Salmond, Jurisprudence 189 (Q!anvflle L Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).