Sources of Law and Types of Authority: The Work of the Judiciary

Courts are reactive and not proactive

U.S. courts operate under a precedential system, under the doctrine of stare decisis.

• Stare Decisis [Latin "to stand by things decided"]
• The doctrine of precedent, under which it is necessary for a court to follow earlier judicial decisions when the same points arise again in litigation
• Requires courts to follow the rulings of higher courts in their jurisdiction

A Printed Reporter - Click image to enlarge

• Opinions are published online and in books called “reporters”
• For the federal courts, each court level has its own reporter.
• For state and local courts, there is generally no reporter for the trial level, as there are usually no opinions issued at that level.
• This means no published opinions on trials that you would find online or in the library

Click image to enlarge