How to Read a Case and Understand Precedent

Question 1

caption

Answer 1

The heading of a case which includes the names of the parties, the name of the court issuing the opinion, the date of the opinion, and sometimes other identifying
information.

Question 2

citation

Answer 2

Includes the name of a case, the name of the court that decided it, the year the case was decided, the reporter, and the page number on which the case starts in the relevant reporter.

Question 3

shepardizing

Answer 3

Determining what other cases have overruled, distinguished, or otherwise
changed our understanding of a case. The term comes from leaflets indicating updates to cases that were first printed in the late 1800s by Frank Shepard.

Question 4

petitioner

Answer 4

The party seeking to have the Supreme Court review a case, through a writ of
certiorari. Typically, the party that lost in the prior stage of the proceeding

Question 5

respondent

Answer 5

The party against whom a petition is filed. In the Supreme Court, this is
typically the party who won the case in the court below and seeks to defend the judgment

Question 6

majority opinion

Answer 6

An opinion that is joined by a majority of the judges on a court.

Question 7

concurring opinion

Answer 7

An opinion by a judge who agrees with the majority on the outcome of
the case but disagrees with the majority on something or has something to add. Also called a “concurrence.”

Question 8

dissenting opinion

Answer 8

An opinion by a judge who would have ruled differently than the
majority. Also called a “dissent.”

Question 9

relief sought

Answer 9

The remedy the parties want in a case.

Question 10

money damages

Answer 10

Money given to a party as a remedy for the harm they have suffered.

Question 11

injunctive relief

Answer 11

A court order for someone to do something or refrain from doing something.

Question 12

declaratory judgment

Answer 12

A remedy that is a mere statement of what the law is.

Question 13

disposition

Answer 13

The court’s determination of what should happen in a case. It is an action and is
usually found in the last few lines of a majority opinion.

Question 14

affirm

Answer 14

A disposition in which a court of appeals or supreme court leaves the judgment or ruling immediately below intact. However, the reasoning the court offers for that result may have changed.

Question 15

reverse

Answer 15

A disposition in which a court of appeals or supreme court overturns the judgment
or ruling below, i.e., declares that the decision below was wrong. Similar to “vacate”

Question 16

Remand

Answer 16

The case is sent back to the court below for further action.

Question 17

holding

Answer 17

The legal rule announced by a case that could be used in future cases.

Question 18

obiter dictum

Answer 18

Latin for “a remark by the way.” It is information in the opinion that is not
necessary for the opinion and does not have binding precedential value. Often called “dictum” for short or “dicta” in plural.

Question 19

tort law

Answer 19

The branch of law relating to civil (as opposed to criminal) wrongful acts or
omissions. Torts give rise to a civil action or private lawsuit.

Question 20

stare decisis

Answer 20

A Latin expression meaning “to stand by things decided.” Stare decisis is a principle that ordinarily requires judges to apply the reasoning from earlier decisions (precedents) so that later cases reach the same result as similar earlier cases decided by the
same court or a superior court.

Question 21

public policy

Answer 21

An argument appealing to what is right, just, and promotes the public good.
Public policy arguments can be made in relation to what goals should be promoted through
statutes or regulation, or as a basis for determining when courts should exercise the use of
judicial power. One common usage of the phrase is that a contract should not be enforced
because it is “contrary to public policy.” (Note that this term’s meaning is more contextual
than many others we define here.)

Question 22

slippery slope

Answer 22

An argument form where the arguer suggests that if a particular step is
taken now, it will inevitably lead to a very bad unwanted consequence later on

Question 23

institutional competence

Answer 23

An argument that a certain kind of institution, most often courts, are ill-equipped to make certain decisions, and that such decisions should be made by another institution (e.g., legislatures or agencies).

Question 24

counterfactual

Answer 24

Relating to or expressing what has not happened or is not the case

Question 25

consequentialism

Answer 25

A moral philosophy in which the rightness or wrongness of an action is
judged solely by its consequences.

Question 26

vertical dimension of precedent

Answer 26

A decision by a higher court binds lower courts in the same court system.

Question 27

horizontal dimension of precedent

Answer 27

A court’s general obligation to adhere to its own decisions from previous cases.