A court decision is a legal ruling that determines the outcome of a case. Judges decide the case based on evidence and arguments presented by attorneys for both parties.
In our law system, judicial decisions are one of the most important sources of legal authority, along with legislative and regulatory enactments. Judicial decisions, also known as case law, are binding on courts of the same level or lower, so long as there is no legislation, statute, or higher court ruling that overrules it.
When a case is appealed, the Supreme Court reviews the case’s record and questions or points of law it raises. The Justices listen to attorneys for both parties during oral argument and then vote on how to resolve the case. The Chief Justice assigns a Justice to write the majority or principal opinion. Other Justices may write concurring or dissenting opinions in the case.
Judges often cite past judicial decisions in their own decisions as support for their arguments. When deciding which past decisions to cite, judges have to choose the ones that best fit their goals. This choice might be influenced by the notions of importance, normative value, or authority/jurisprudential influence that are attached to past judicial decisions.
In our studies, we surveyed judges to learn more about how they make this choice. We found that some judges cited more influential or “important” decisions than others. These tend to be cases that are more similar to the case at hand, have been argued by a judge that has a reputation for excellence, have been talked about in the media, or appear in collections of decisions or student textbooks.