A court decision is a ruling or judgment made by a judge. Court decisions are used by other courts to determine how to interpret laws (such as statutes) or to balance competing rights. They are usually binding on lower courts unless a higher court overrules them. Court decisions are also known as case law.
A high court’s decision may affect a wide range of issues, from gun rights to the availability of abortion pills. The Supreme Court is considering several cases this term that could have momentous implications.
Before a case is heard, the justices read briefs submitted by lawyers for each side. The judge then decides what rules should govern the trial and questions witnesses for each side of the case. If the jury can’t reach a unanimous verdict, the judge declares a mistrial and asks the lawyers to submit new briefs for the next trial.
In the United States, a court’s decisions are available for anyone to read. They are released at different times throughout the day. Some are released earlier than others, depending on the complexity of the decision and whether it has concurring or dissenting opinions.
A legal system adheres to a doctrine called stare decisis, which means “to stand by decided cases.” In other words, once a court makes a ruling on a particular case type, it is bound to stick with that ruling in subsequent cases until a legislature creates a new law or a higher court overrules the precedent. Thus, precedent is a key component of the legal system. Some precedents are regarded as more important than others. This is because they set a standard that other judges must follow, or have normative value. They are often talked about more, appear in collections of decisions and student textbooks, or cited more frequently than others.
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