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I've always wondered about this too. What happens when precedent is set either by faulty cases or people with agendas?
by brightball 9y ago
I've always wondered about this too. What happens when precedent is set either by faulty cases or people with agendas?
- yason 9y agoOr non-significant early cases where the stakes aren't too high and rulings that will lead the path to precedence can vary.
- icebraining 9y agoWikipedia's article is fairly complete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedent TL;DR: Precedent is binding to court where it was set and "below". To overrule it, you generally must appeal until you reach the level above where it was set. IANAL.
- ensignavenger 9y agoThe supreme court can overturn precedent. They are not bound to follow the precedent of previous supreme court rulings. They don't do this lightly or particularly often, though.
- Pinckney 9y agoHow do appeals work with circuit splits? Suppose I lose a case, appeal to the supreme court, and am rejected. Years later, a different case in a different circuit reaches a contradictory conclusion, but the losing side declines to appeal. Can I now re-appeal to the supreme court in light of the split, or am I SOL?
- schoen 9y agoYou need to have a current case in order to appeal it. (Indeed, you need to have had a sufficiently recent adverse decision of an appropriate kind in your case in order to appeal it.)