Judicial precedent refers to what?

• A. A court order issued by a trial judge.
• B. A court decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts.
• C. A legislative act that becomes law.
• D. A courtesy ruling by a court officer.

Answer: (B)

Judicial precedent is the ruling a court issues that provides a rule or authority for deciding future cases with identical or similar facts. This is the idea behind stare decisis: decisions build predictable guidelines that lower courts follow and lawyers rely on when arguing new disputes. A given decision becomes binding in the same jurisdiction when it establishes a rule that other courts must apply to similar situations.

The other descriptions don’t fit because they refer to actions that resolve a single case or are not recognized as guiding rules for later cases: an individual court order is specific to a particular proceeding, a legislative act creates law, and a courtesy ruling by a court officer isn’t a recognized source of binding authority.