“Case Law” Tips

What is “Case Law”

If you have had some contact with the law -- either through your reading or through your operation of a business enterprise -- you may have heard the term “case law.” Although you have heard the term case law, you may not know exactly what is meant by this piece of terminology.

In the United States, as in many other countries around the world, there tends to be two general sources for law -- for the law that people are obliged to follow. The most obvious type of law or laws are those statutes, regulations or ordinances that have been passed and enacted by a particular governing body. In addition, there is so-called case law, which is the subject of this particular article.

Case law actually is what the moniker suggests: It is the law derived from decision of what are known as “courts of record.” A court of record in most instances is an appellate court in a particular jurisdiction. An example of such a court -- and obvious example -- is the Supreme Court of the United States.

In simple terms, the decisions of these particular courts, the orders that they hand down in a particular case, is case law -- law which must be followed from that point onward and forward. The decisions of courts pertain not only to the case at hand before the court but will be applied in future similar situations under the concept of precedent or stare decisis (let the decision stand).

A prime example of case law that has garnered a great deal of attention through the years are those decision of the United States Supreme Court pertaining to racial issues such as the separate but equal doctrine. When the United States Supreme Court issued decisions striking down the concept of separate but equal it then became impermissible for laws to be passed that established separate but equal accommodations (schools, for example) for people depending on their race.

Case law has the same effect as those statutes, regulations and ordinances passed by governing bodies. Indeed, case law oftentimes involves the ultimate interpretation of how statutes, regulations and ordinances are going to be enforced (or, in some instances, not enforced) in the future. In theory at least, a court such as the Supreme Court of the United States is the ultimate legal authority in the country, the final arbitrator and decision maker.