4 ms·
How much precedence does this carry for other cases or does each instance of "fair use" need to be evaluated by the Supreme Court before we know if it was legal
by spullara 6y ago
How much precedence does this carry for other cases or does each instance of "fair use" need to be evaluated by the Supreme Court before we know if it was legal?
- comex 6y agoPrecedent works by analogy. What matters is not just the outcome of a particular case, but the reasoning. When similar legal questions come up in future cases, lower courts are required to cite this case and follow the same reasoning, to the extent the reasoning applies to the facts of that case. Of course, no two cases have exactly the same facts, and different facts may produce a different outcome. But if a future case is similar enough to this one, the lower court will be expected to compare the two cases and explain why the differences in facts justify a different outcome. No legal question is resolved for sure until it reaches the Supreme Court, but most cases never make it there, instead being resolved by lower courts applying higher courts' precedents.