Is case law one word

The multisyllable decisional law could never be solidified. But for the two-syllable caselaw, we made the editorial decision to write it as one word in Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage and Black’s Law Dictionary.

How does a case become case law?

Case law is the collection of reported cases that form the body of law withing a given jurisdiction. It is based upon judicial opinions by various courts, which may set future precedent. Generally courts will follow the decisions of higher courts in their jurisdiction.

Can case law be overturned?

The Supreme Court can overrule itself. This happens when a different case involving the same constitutional issues as an earlier case is reviewed by the court and seen in a new light, typically because of changing social and political situations.

Does case law override statute law?

Statutes generally have priority, or take precedence, over case law (judicial decisions). Under common-law judicial decisions, employers could hire young children for difficult work, offer any wage they wanted, and not pay overtime work at a higher rate. But various statutes changed that.

What does it mean if a case is overturned?

of a court. : to disagree with a decision made earlier by a lower court The appeals court overturned the decision made by the trial court.

What does precedent mean in law?

Precedent refers to a court decision that is considered as authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts, or similar legal issues. If the facts or issues of a case differ from those in a previous case, the previous case cannot be precedent.

What is binding precedent in law?

Binding precedent. Precedent that a court must abide by in its adjudication of a case. For example, a lower court is bound by the decision of a higher court in the same jurisdiction, even if the lower court judge disagrees with the reasoning or outcome of that decision.

Can you sue a judge for violating my constitutional rights?

Of course you can. ANyone can sue. You do know don’t you that judges enjoy ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY for suits against them for actions taken from the bench.

What to do when your constitutional rights are violated?

Right to appeal or request a new trial. When your constitutional rights are breached during the criminal justice process, and the breach contributes to a guilty conviction, you can pursue an appeal based on an error in the criminal procedure or jury misconduct, or file a motion for a new trial.

What are four types of judicial misconduct?

Actions that can be classified as judicial misconduct include: conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts (as an extreme example: “falsification of facts” at summary judgment); using the judge’s office to obtain special treatment for friends or relatives; accepting …

Can a judge ignore the law?

Remember a judge is always under oath in the courtroom, Citing invalid laws or precedents. This is more unusual because a judge typically can’t ignore a law without explaining why. The judge would have to break two rules in order to accomplish this one

Can a judge reverse an order?

A court order can only be changed or modified by another court order. It does not necessarily need to be issued by the same judge, though most commonly is. The best way to pursue this would be to make a motion to vacate or modify the existing order, made to the same court as had issued the existing order.

Can a judge’s ruling be overturned?

The judges can overrule its decision by the way of Review and appeal. The power of review and appeal are distinct when hearing the appeal petition to be entertained in appellate jurisdiction the court does not rehear the case at hand and in review the petition has to filed against its own order of judgment

Is a judge’s decision final?

The appellate court’s decision will become final in 30 days unless any of the parties disagrees with the opinion and files a certain kind of petition. If that happens, the court’s opinion is not yet final. If you disagree with the court’s opinion, click to see what you can do for options after losing an appeal.

What happens if you lose an appeal?

State and federal appeals courts review the decisions of lower trial courts. If a party loses in an appeals court, they may appeal to the state supreme court or to the United States Supreme Court

What percentage of court appeals are successful?

20 percent

What are the chances of winning an appeal?

What are my chances of winning on appeal? Most appeals are not successful. For example, the California courts of appeal will reverse the judgment in civil appeals only about 20 percent of the time. An appellant in a civil case therefore has a one-in-five chance of winning, in general.

How long does an appeal case take?

14 to 16 months

Do I need a lawyer to appeal a case?

You have the right to appeal a case without a lawyer. But appeals are very complicated and take a lot of time, effort, and money. You have to do all the paperwork correctly, meet the deadlines, and follow all the court’s rules and procedures.

How much does it cost to appeal a case?

(1) For docketing a case on appeal or review, or docketing any other proceeding, $500. Each party filing a notice of appeal pays a separate fee to the district court, but parties filing a joint notice of appeal pay only one fee.

What percentage of cases are overturned on appeal?

rate of about 40 percent in defendants’ appeals of trials. Plaintiffs achieve reversal in about 4 percent of all filed cases ending in trial judgments and suffer affirmance in about 16 percent of such cases. This yields a reversal rate of about 18 percent in plaintiffs’ appeals of trials.

How much do lawyers charge for appeals?

While there is no such thing as an “average” appeal, a litigant should not expect to pay less than $10,000 unless the issues are simple and limited in number. For complex cases, fee amounts of $15,000 to $30,000 are not uncommon. Aside from attorney’s fees, litigants are also responsible for the costs of an appeal

How many times can you appeal?

As a general rule, the final judgment of a lower court can be appealed to the next higher court only once. In any one case, the number of appeals thus depends on how many courts are “superior” to the court that made the decision, and sometimes what the next high court decides or what the basis for your appeal is.

Does an appeal stop a judgment?

If you file an appeal of a judgment against you, keep in mind that your appeal does not necessarily prevent that judgment from being carried out. In order to postpone your judgment during an appeal, you must be granted a stay of judgment by a judge.

The term case law refers to law that comes from decisions made by judges in previous cases. Case law, also known as “common law,” and “case precedent,” provides a common contextual background for certain legal concepts, and how they are applied in certain types of case. How much sway case law holds may vary by jurisdiction, and by the exact circumstances of the current case.  To explore this concept, consider the following case law definition.

Definition of Case Law

Noun

1. The law as established in previous court rulings; like common law, which springs from judicial decisions and tradition.

Origin

1860-1865       English common law

What is Case Law

Statutory laws are those created by legislative bodies, such as Congress at both the federal and state levels. While this type of law strives to shape our society, providing rules and guidelines, it would be impossible for any legislative body to anticipate all situations and legal issues. The court system is then tasked with interpreting the law when it is unclear how it applies to any given situation, often rendering judgments based on the intent of lawmakers and the circumstances of the case at hand. Such decisions become a guide for future similar cases.

In order to preserve a uniform enforcement of the laws, the legal system adheres to the doctrine of stare decisis, which is Latin for “stand by decided matters.”  This means that a court will be bound to rule in accordance with a previously made ruling on the same type of case. Precedent, or case law, is binding on courts of the same level or lower, and applies only if there is no legislative statute created, or higher court ruling, that overrules it.

Example of Case Law Application

Stacy, a tenant in a duplex owned by Martin, filed a civil lawsuit against her landlord, claiming he had not given her enough notice before raising her rent, citing a new state law that requires a minimum of 90 days’ notice. Martin argues that the new law applies only to landlords of large multi-tenant properties. When the state court hearing the case reviews the law, he finds that, while it mentions large multi-tenant properties in some context, it is actually quite vague about whether the 90-day provision applies to all landlords. The judge, based on the specific circumstances of Stacy’s case, decides that all landlords are held to the 90-day notice requirement, and rules in Stacy’s favor.

A year later, Frank and Adel have a similar problem. When they sue their landlord, the court must use the previous court’s decision in applying the law. This example of case law refers to two cases heard in the state court, at the same level. The ruling of the first court created case law that must be followed by other courts until or unless either new law is created, or a higher court rules differently.

Case Law by Jurisdiction

Case law is specific to the jurisdiction in which it was rendered. For instance, a ruling in a California appellate court would not usually be used in deciding a case in Oklahoma. While there is no prohibition against referring to case law from a state other than the state in which the case is being heard, it holds little sway. Still, if there is no precedent in the home state, relevant case law from another state may be considered by the court.

Rulings made by federal appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court, however, are binding on state courts. Such rulings become “binding precedent,” which must be adhered to by lower courts in future similar cases. Rulings by courts of “lateral jurisdiction” are not binding, but may be used as persuasive authority, which is to give substance to the party’s argument, or to guide the present court.

Case Law Search

Just a few years ago, searching for case precedent was a difficult and time consuming task, requiring people to search through print copies of case law, or to pay for access to commercial online databases. Today, the internet has opened up a host of case law search possibilities, and many sources offer free access to case law. Doing a case law search may be as easy as entering specific keywords or citation into a search engine. There are, however, certain websites that facilitate case law searches, including:

• Google Scholar – a vast database of state and federal case law, which is searchable by keyword, phrase, or citations. Google Scholar also allows searchers to specify which level of court cases to search, from federal, to specific states.
• Justia – a comprehensive resource for federal and state statutory laws, as well as case law at both the federal and state levels.
• Public Library of Law – offers access to cases from the U.S. Supreme court since 1754, the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal since 1951, and from each state since 1997. In addition to allowing users to search by keyword, court, and case, the website provides tutorials on “Finding a Case,” and “Searching Statutes.”

In addition, the Law Library of Congress offers a great deal of information on statutes, case law, and other legal issues. This includes a Guide to Law Online.

Dissecting Case Law Citations

Finding a relevant case law ruling, and inserting a reference to that case into a current legal pleading, is not enough to direct the court to the specific issue. In many instances, court rulings in the U.S. deal with multiple issues, and include drawn-out descriptions of how the court, especially an appellate or supreme court, came to its conclusion. Because of this, simply citing the case is more likely to annoy a judge than help the party’s case. Think of it as calling someone to tell them you’ve found their lost phone, then telling them you live in such-and-such neighborhood, without actually giving them an address. Driving around the neighborhood trying to find their phone is likely to be more frustrating than it’s worth.

For legal professionals, there are specific rules regarding case citation, which vary depending on the court and jurisdiction hearing the case. Proper case law citation in a state court may not be appropriate, or even accepted, at the U.S. Supreme Court. Generally speaking, proper case citation includes the names of the parties to the original case, the court in which the case was heard, the date it was decided, and the book in which it is recorded. Different citation requirements may include italicized or underlined text, and certain specific abbreviations.

In the United States, people are not required to hire an attorney to represent them in either civil or criminal matters. Laypeople navigating the legal system on their own can remember one rule of thumb when it comes to referring to case law or precedent in court documents: be as specific as possible, leading the court, not only to the case, but to the section and paragraph containing the pertinent information. The Cornell Law School website offers a variety of information on legal topics, including citation of case law, and even provides a video tutorial on case citation.

Case Law Example in Civil Lawsuit Against Child Services

In 1996, the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services (“DCFS”) removed a 12-year old boy from his home to protect him from the horrible physical and sexual abuse he had suffered in his home, and to prevent him from abusing other children in the home. The boy was placed in an emergency foster home, and was later shifted around within the foster care system. The DCFS social worker in charge of the boy’s case had the boy made a ward of DCFS, and in her 6-month report to the court, the worker elaborated on the boy’s sexual abuse history, and stated that she planned to move him from a facility into a “more homelike setting.” The court approved her plan.

In 1997, the boy was placed into the home of John and Jane Roe as a foster child. Although the couple had two young children of their own at home, the social worker did not tell them about the boy’s history of both being abused, and abusing other children. When she made her report to the court the following day, the worker reported the boy’s placement in the Roe’s home, but didn’t mention that the couple had young children. She did note that the boy still needed extensive therapy in order to cope with his abusive past, and “to reach the point of being safe with other children.” The boy was receiving counseling with a DCFS therapist. Again, the court approved of the actions.

The Roes accompanied the boy to his therapy sessions. When they were told of the boy’s past, they asked if their children were safe with him in their home. The therapist assured them that they had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, that was not true. Just two months after being placed with the Roe family, the Roe’s son told his parents that the boy had molested him. The boy was arrested two days later, and admitted to having sexually molested the couple’s son several times.

On June 16, 1999, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy by a guardian ad litem, against DCFS, the social worker, and the therapist. A similar lawsuit was also filed on behalf of the Roe’s victimized son by a different guardian ad litem. The defendants petitioned the trial court for a dismissal based on absolute immunity, as they were all acting in their jobs with DCFS. If granted absolute immunity, the parties would not only be protected from liability in the matter, but could not be answerable in any way for their actions. When the court delayed making such a ruling, the defendants took their request to the appellate court.

In determining whether employees of DCFS are entitled to absolute immunity, which is generally held by certain government officials acting within the scope of their employment, the appellate court referred to case law previously rendered on similar cases. The appellate court determined that the trial court had not erred in its decision to allow more time for information to be gathered by the parties – specifically regarding the issue of absolute immunity.

Related Legal Terms and Issues

• Binding Precedent – A rule or principle established by a court, which other courts are obligated to follow.
• Lateral Jurisdiction – A court at the same level.
• Persuasive Authority – Prior court rulings that may be consulted in deciding a current case. It may be used to guide the court, but is not binding precedent.

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Case law in a legal system are those laws based on previous judicial decisions. This is opposed to decisions based on existing statutes or regulations.^[1] In countries using common law, it is generally uncodified meaning there are no collections of legal rules, and laws to rely on.^[2] Instead they rely on legal precedent. Precedents are previous legal cases that are used as examples for deciding the present case. They are also binding on lower courts where the facts and issues are similar.^[3] In countries that use civil law, their laws are codified, and there is much less reliance on case law.

Common law[change | change source]

Judges make judicial decisions based on precedent, and their own understanding when there are few or no precedents.^[4] This is «judge-made law» as compared to statuary law, which is made by legislatures, and governments.^[4] In the United States the courts can rule statutes, and regulations unconstitutional if they go beyond the authority given by the constitution.^[4] In the United Kingdom judge-made law, or common law cannot rule against statutes made by an act of Parliament.^[5] The judiciary, and legislative branches are not coequal. Judges, however, have traditionally used one of three ways of interpreting statutes:

• They may be interpreted literally or simply as the law was written.^[5]
• They may use the «golden rule» meaning that if the law is difficult to interpret the judiciary may use a less obvious meaning.^[5]
• They may apply the «mischief rule». If the act lends itself to more than one interpretation, choose the interpretation that best deals with the problem.^[5]

Civil law[change | change source]

Judges make decisions by decisions based on the appropriate laws. They then investigate to learn all the facts. Finally they make a decision.^[4] Under civil law, judiciary decisions are not a critical part of forming civil laws.^[4] Under Dutch civil law for example, there are so many civil laws that it becomes difficult for lawyers and judges to know if they have found all the laws that apply to a case.^[6] Even with all the laws, not every situation is covered. The civil court will research everything it can on the subject, then make a decision.^[6] For this reason those who start a legal case never know for certain what the decision will be.^[6]

References[change | change source]

Other websites[change | change source]

• Case law (or Common law), Library of Congress
• Case Law in the United Kingdom Archived 2016-01-28 at the Wayback Machine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a legal case that have been resolved by courts or similar tribunals. These past decisions are called «case law», or precedent. Stare decisis—a Latin phrase meaning «let the decision stand»—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions.

These judicial interpretations are distinguished from statutory law, which are codes enacted by legislative bodies, and regulatory law, which are established by executive agencies based on statutes. In some jurisdictions, case law can be applied to ongoing adjudication; for example, criminal proceedings or family law.

In common law countries (including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), it is used for judicial decisions of selected appellate courts, courts of first instance, agency tribunals, and other bodies discharging adjudicatory functions.^[1][2]

In common law systems[edit]

In the common law tradition, courts decide the law applicable to a case by interpreting statutes and applying precedents which record how and why prior cases have been decided. Unlike most civil law systems, common law systems follow the doctrine of stare decisis, by which most courts are bound by their own previous decisions in similar cases. According to stare decisis, all lower courts should make decisions consistent with the previous decisions of higher courts.^[3] For example, in England, the High Court and the Court of Appeals are each bound by their own previous decisions, however, since 1966 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom can deviate from its earlier decisions, although in practice it rarely does. A notable example of when the court has overturned its precedent is the case of R v Jogee, where the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that it and the other courts of England and Wales had misapplied the law for nearly 30 years.

Generally speaking, higher courts do not have direct oversight over the lower courts of record, in that they cannot reach out on their initiative (sua sponte) at any time to overrule judgments of the lower courts. Normally, the burden rests with litigants to appeal rulings (including those in clear violation of established case law) to the higher courts. If a judge acts against precedent, and the case is not appealed, the decision will stand.

A lower court may not rule against a binding precedent, even if it feels that it is unjust; it may only express the hope that a higher court or the legislature will reform the rule in question. If the court believes that developments or trends in legal reasoning render the precedent unhelpful, and wishes to evade it and help the law evolve, it may either hold that the precedent is inconsistent with subsequent authority, or that it should be distinguished by some material difference between the facts of the cases; some jurisdictions allow for a judge to recommend that an appeal be carried out. If that judgment goes to appeal, the appellate court will have the opportunity to review both the precedent and the case under appeal, perhaps overruling the previous case law by setting a new precedent of higher authority. This may happen several times as the case works its way through successive appeals. Lord Denning, first of the High Court of Justice, later of the Court of Appeal, provided a famous example of this evolutionary process in his development of the concept of estoppel starting in the High Trees case: Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd [1947] K.B. 130.

How case law is made[edit]

The different roles of case law in civil and common law traditions create differences in the way that courts render decisions. Common law courts generally explain in detail the legal rationale behind their decisions, with citations of both legislation and previous relevant judgments, and often interpret the wider legal principles. The necessary analysis (called ratio decidendi), then constitutes a precedent binding on other courts; further analyses not strictly necessary to the determination of the current case are called obiter dicta, which constitute persuasive authority but are not technically binding. By contrast, decisions in civil law jurisdictions are generally shorter, referring only to statutes^{[citation needed]}.

The reason for this difference is that these civil law jurisdictions adhere to a tradition that the reader should be able to deduce the logic from the decision and the statutes^{[citation needed]}

Some pluralist systems, such as Scots law in Scotland and types of civil law jurisdictions in Quebec and Louisiana, do not precisely fit into the dual common-civil law system classifications. These types of systems may have been heavily influenced by the Anglo-American common law tradition; however, their substantive law is firmly rooted in the civil law tradition. Because of their position between the two main systems of law, these types of legal systems are sometimes referred to as mixed systems of law.

Law professors traditionally have played a much smaller role in developing case law in common law than professors in civil law. Because court decisions in civil law traditions are historically brief^{[citation needed]}
and not formally amenable to establishing precedent, much of the exposition of the law in civil law traditions is done by academics rather than by judges; this is called doctrine and may be published in treatises or in journals such as Recueil Dalloz in France. Historically, common law courts relied little on legal scholarship; thus, at the turn of the twentieth century, it was very rare to see an academic writer quoted in a legal decision (except perhaps for the academic writings of prominent judges such as Coke and Blackstone). Today academic writers are often cited in legal argument and decisions as persuasive authority; often, they are cited when judges are attempting to implement reasoning that other courts have not yet adopted, or when the judge believes the academic’s restatement of the law is more compelling than can be found in case law. Thus common law systems are adopting one of the approaches long-held in civil law jurisdictions.

Judges may refer to various types of persuasive authority to decide a case. Widely cited non-binding sources include legal encyclopedias such as Corpus Juris Secundum and Halsbury’s Laws of England, or the published work of the Law Commission or the American Law Institute. Some bodies are given statutory powers to issue guidance with persuasive authority or similar statutory effect, such as the Highway Code.

In federal or multi-jurisdictional law systems there may exist conflicts between the various lower appellate courts. Sometimes these differences may not be resolved, and it may be necessary to distinguish how the law is applied in one district, province, division or appellate department. Usually, only an appeal accepted by the court of last resort will resolve such differences and, for many reasons, such appeals are often not granted.

Any court may seek to distinguish the present case from that of a binding precedent, to reach a different conclusion. The validity of such a distinction may or may not be accepted on appeal of that judgment to a higher court. An appellate court may also decide on an entirely new and different analysis from that of junior courts, and may or may not be bound by its own previous decisions, or in any case, may distinguish them on the facts.^[4]

Where there are several members of a court deciding a case, there may be one or more judgments given (or reported). Only the reason for the decision of the majority can constitute a binding precedent, but all may be cited as persuasive, or their reasoning may be adopted in an argument. Apart from the rules of procedure for precedent, the weight given to any reported judgment may depend on the reputation of both the reporter and the judges.^[5]

Nordic nations[edit]

The legal systems of the Nordic countries are sometimes included among the civil law systems, but as a separate branch, and sometimes counted as separate from the civil law tradition. In Sweden, for instance, case law arguably plays a more important role than in some of the Continental codified law systems. The two highest courts, the Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen) and the Supreme Administrative Court (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen), have the right to set precedent which is in practice (however not formally) binding on all future application of the law. Courts of appeal, both general courts (hovrätter) and administrative courts (kammarrätter), may also issue decisions that act as guides for the application of the law, but these decisions may be overturned by higher courts. Much of the case law is used to prove the existence of a law and not, unlike many common law jurisdictions, the creation of law.

See also[edit]

• Judicial activism
• Legal opinion
• Lists of case law
• Precedent

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• interactive database of European judgments of national courts in the EU
• Queensland Case Law
• Queensland Judgments reported and unreported case law

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The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories of the law, the courts of justice. Every new case is an experiment, and if the accepted rule which seems applicable yields a result which is felt to be unjust, the rule is reconsidered.

Benjamin N. Cardozo

PRONUNCIATION OF CASE LAW

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CASE LAW

Case law is a noun.

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