Binding Precedent - Practical Application

Practical Application

Although inferior courts are bound in theory by superior court precedent, in practice judges may sometimes attempt to evade precedent by distinguishing it on spurious grounds. The appeal of a decision that does not obey precedent might not occur, however, as the expense of an appeal may prevent the losing party from doing so. Thus the inferior court decision may remain in effect even though it does not obey the superior court decision, as the only way a decision can enter the appeal process is by application of one of the parties bound by it.

Read more about this topic:  Binding Precedent

Famous quotes containing the words practical and/or application:

    While there are practical and sometimes moral reasons for the decomposition of the family, it coincides neither with what most people in society say they desire nor, especially in the case of children, with their best interests.
    Robert Neelly Bellah (20th century)

    The main object of a revolution is the liberation of man ... not the interpretation and application of some transcendental ideology.
    Jean Genet (1910–1986)