Precedent — Legal Precedent Reference#

Quick-reference skill for the doctrine of precedent, case law analysis, and stare decisis.

When to Use#

• Determining which court decisions are binding in your jurisdiction
• Distinguishing or analogizing prior cases
• Understanding ratio decidendi vs obiter dicta
• Researching whether a precedent has been overruled or modified
• Building persuasive legal arguments from case law

Commands#

intro#

bash

scripts/script.sh intro

Overview of legal precedent — stare decisis, common law tradition, purpose.

hierarchy#

bash

scripts/script.sh hierarchy

Court hierarchy — binding vs persuasive authority, federal/state systems.

analysis#

bash

scripts/script.sh analysis

Case analysis — ratio decidendi, obiter dicta, material facts, holdings.

distinguishing#

bash

scripts/script.sh distinguishing

Distinguishing precedent — factual differences, legal distinctions, narrow/broad readings.

overruling#

bash

scripts/script.sh overruling

Overruling and modifying precedent — when courts reverse themselves.

research#

bash

scripts/script.sh research

Case law research — citation formats, Shepardizing, KeyCite, databases.

writing#

bash

scripts/script.sh writing

Using precedent in legal writing — IRAC, analogical reasoning, synthesis.

checklist#

bash

scripts/script.sh checklist

Case law analysis and application checklist.

help#

bash

scripts/script.sh help

version#

bash

scripts/script.sh version

Configuration#

VariableDescriptionPRECEDENT_DIRData directory (default: ~/.precedent/)

---

Powered by BytesAgain | bytesagain.com | hello@bytesagain.com