The Doctrine of Precedence

Precedence
- A prior reported opinion of an appeals court
which establishes the legal rule in the future on
the same legal question decided in the prior
judgment.1 Common law and equity rely strongly
on the body of established precedents, although
in the original development of equity the court
theoretically had freedom from precedent. At
the end of the 19th century, the principle
of Stare Decisis became rigidly accepted in
England.2
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1
https://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1573
2
https://www.britannica.com/topic/precedent
Stare Decisis
-  Latin for "to stand by a decision," the
doctrine that a trial court is bound by appellate
court decisions (precedents) on a legal question
which is raised in the lower court.1

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1
https://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=2005