LE 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Precedent, Ratio Decidendi
13 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Legal analysis: the process of applying the law to specific facts, aka legal reasoning. Fact bound: when minor modifications to the facts can change the outcome. Cause of action: a claim that, based on the law and the facts, is sufficient to support a lawsuit. Mandatory authority: court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction. Persuasive authority: court decisions from an equal or lower court from the same or different jurisdiction. Stare decisis: the doctrine that normally once a court has decided an issue, other courts in the same jurisdiction will have to decide the same way. Substantive facts: things that happened to the parties before the litigation began and that are relevant to their claims. Procedural facts: actions taken by lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached the court issuing the opinion one is reading. Legal issues: questions about the interpretation and application of the law. Disposition: the result is reached in a particular case.
