PrecedentHow a past decision binds a later court, and what part actually binds.LawThe binding element is the legal reasoning essentialto the outcome, not everything the judge said.Ratio decidendi binds · Obiter dicta persuadesRatio decidendiThe reason for the decisionBinding.Obiter dictaSaid in passingPersuasive only.DistinguishingMaterial facts differPrecedent avoided.THE COMMON MISTAKE✗ Treating every sentence of a judgment as binding✓ Identifying the ratioJudgments contain extensive discussion. Only the reasoning the outcomeactually required binds a later court.Educational reference. Courts bind those below them, and usuallythemselves, with defined exceptions.Precedentlearnposters.com
Precedent — printable law & society wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Precedent poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

Educational reference. Courts bind those below them, and usually themselves, with defined exceptions.

Questions about the Precedent poster

What’s on the Precedent poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. The binding element is the legal reasoning essential to the outcome, not everything t…; Ratio decidendi binds · Obiter dicta persuades; Ratio decidendi = The reason for the decision; Obiter dicta = Said in passing; Distinguishing = Material facts differ; Common mistake: Treating every sentence of a judgment as binding → Identifying the ratio. Educational reference. Courts bind those below them, and usually themselves, with defined exceptions.
Who is the Precedent poster for?
Precedent belongs to the Law section rather than to a school year, because law & society is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning the legal system can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Precedent poster?
Only the reasoning necessary to the decision binds. The rest is persuasive at most. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Precedent belongs on the wall where that law & society work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Precedent?
Legal Reasoning, Access to Justice and Resolving Disputes Without Trial sit alongside Precedent in the Law section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Legal ReasoningAccess to JusticeResolving Disputes Without Trial
Is the Precedent poster free to download and print?
Yes. Precedent downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Law section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Precedent poster print at?
Precedent is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Precedent loses nothing.Printing guide

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