Precedent is a prior judicial decision used as authority in later cases with similar legal issues.
Precedent means a prior judicial decision that later courts may treat as authority when deciding similar legal issues.
Precedent is one of the main reasons past cases still matter after they end. Court decisions do more than resolve one dispute. They often shape how statutes are interpreted, how legal standards are framed, and how lawyers predict outcomes.
The term matters because readers often know that cases can be cited without understanding why. Precedent explains why earlier decisions can guide, limit, or control later legal analysis.
Precedent appears in motions, briefs, trial-court rulings, appellate opinions, and legal research. Lawyers rely on precedent to argue that a court should follow or distinguish earlier cases.
An appellate court previously interpreted a consumer-protection statute in a specific way. In a later case involving similar facts, the parties argue about whether that earlier interpretation controls the result.
Precedent is different from a statute because a statute is enacted by a legislature. It is different from a regulation because a regulation comes from an agency. Precedent comes from judicial decisions and often explains how statutes and regulations should be applied.