case law

Law established by previous decisions of appellate or district courts. See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.

The use of court decisions to determine how other law (such as statutes) should apply in a given situation. For example, a trial court may use a prior decision from the Supreme Court that has similar issues.

The law as reflected in the written decisions of the courts.

The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.

While many of the laws we follow daily have been written by the Delaware Legislature, and the United States Senate and House of Congress, or by agencies that have been granted the power to make regulations, such as the IRS, there is another body of law that the courts follow in making decisions. While the courts interpret statutory law, normally in every case, and apply those laws to the particular facts of the case they are deciding, there is a large body of previous decisions from courts which interpret many of the legal issues that may come up in a case. The law from previous judicial opinions is known as case law, and a judge, in most instances, will seriously consider decisions from previous cases when deciding a particular issue.