Idioms

set a precedent

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set a precedent

To do something that establishes a standard, pattern, or policy that will be used in the future. The court's decision in this case will set a precedent that affects the lives of all citizens going forward. I'd rather that you don't let Tommy eat his dinner in front of the television—I don't want to set a bad precedent for mealtimes.
See also: set
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

set a precedent

to establish a pattern; to set a policy that must be followed in future cases. I'll do what you ask this time, but it doesn't set a precedent. We've already set a precedent in matters such as these.
See also: set
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

set a precedent

Establish a usage, tradition, or standard to be followed in the future. For example, He set a precedent by having the chaplain lead the academic procession. The word precedent here signifies a previous instance or legal decision upon which future instances are based, a usage dating from the early 1400s. In British and American law it more specifically refers to a legal decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent cases.
See also: set
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
Par contre, la composante A n'a connu aucune variation, tandis que la composante A a connu une baisse de 0,8% par rapport au trimestre precedent.
Par ailleurs, au cours de l'annee, ayant pris fin en juillet 2019, le cout des materiaux de la construction des maisons a usage d'habitation observe une augmentation de 5,3%, contre 3,4% par rapport au mois precedent.
"Where a panel of this Court has decided a legal issue, future panels are bound to follow that precedent," Dietz said.
To find out the geographical distribution of cited precedents.
Part III argues that the current good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule most likely requires courts to account for another circuit's precedent in determining whether an officer reasonably relied upon a binding interpretation of the law.
By deferring to precedent, a [J]ustice highlights her membership in a larger institution that predates her and will continue long after she is gone.
Unlike a plea of the statute of limitations or sovereign immunity, a party not in compliance with a condition precedent could later satisfy the condition and then file a new action or claim.
When the Supreme Court departs from prior precedent, it usually involves breathtaking cases, such as the overturning of the "separate but equal" precedent of Plessy v.
This Review contends that, far from presenting a neutral theory of stare decisis that should reasonably be acceptable to everyone, Kozel's second-best theory of precedent is deeply normative and inherently controversial.
Echoing Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday that allowing the removal of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno through a quo warranto petition could set a 'dangerous precedent.'
The Enduring Distinctions Between Precedent and Preclusion 593
In order to illustrate how legal precedents can be set by courts that decide cases involving indigenous cultures without knowing anything about those cultures, McNeil examines an early seminal case on Indigenous land rights in Canada.
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