Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding issues before them. Depending on the relationship between the deciding court and …

Case law is law based on judicial decisions. This guide cites resources for locating and identifying judicial decisions from the U.S. courts using primary and secondary sources of case law.

Jul 14, 2025 · Understand case law with real-world examples. Learn how to interpret and apply legal principles to resolve disputes and make informed decisions.

In Plessy, The Court held that even though a Louisiana law required rail passengers to be segregated based on race, there was no violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause so …

Case law uses the detailed facts of a legal case that have been resolved by courts or similar tribunals. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent.

For example, a case in New York would not be decided using case law from California. Instead, New York courts will analyze the issue relying on binding precedent.

A wealth of resources for both state and federal courts including decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals, case summaries, and more.

Explore the 100 most popular legal cases everyone should know—famous court decisions explained in plain English with quick facts, issues, and impact.

While each Supreme Court decision carries great weight, some decisions have resonated with particular force. Justia has selected landmark cases in the following areas:

CompassCare v. Hochul Vol. 138 No. 8 June 2025 The fundamental right to expressive association first emerged in NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, a case that shielded a civil rights organization from...