Binding versus Persuasive Authority
By: Jake Levens
The Result
THIS IS
- By Illinois following the decision of Iowa, this would be considered persuasive authority
- Illinois is a separate court system than Iowa therefore they are not required to follow their jurisdictional decision.
- If the U.S. Supreme court decided a similar case then Illinois is bound to the decision.
THE END
Illinois Case
Persuasive Authority
- A county court in Illinois is deciding a case on an issue that has never been addressed in that state's courts.
- The Iowa Supreme court recently decided a case involving a very similar fact pattern. (Iowa Supreme court is the largest court in Iowa).
- When an issue is raised that has not been raised before, the court has no precedents to base its decision.
- "cases of first impression" are important, so courts look at precedents established in other jurisdictions for guidance
- precedents from other jurisdictions are not binding on the court, so these are referred to as persuasive authority.
Binding Authority
- Any source of law that a court must follow when citing a case.
- INCLUDES: Constitutions, statutes, and regulations that govern the issue, and court decisions that are controlling precedents within the jurisdiction.
- U.S. Supreme court decision, no matter how old remain in control until they are overruled by some other subsequent party.