leading case

leading case.

1. A judicial decision that first definitively settled an important legal rule or principle and that has since been often and consistently followed. • An example is Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602 (1966) (creating the exclusionary rule for evidence improperly obtained from a suspect being interrogated while in police custody). Cf. LANDMARK DECISION.

2. An important, often the most important, judicial precedent on a particular legal issue.

3. Loosely, a reported case that is cited as the dispositive authority on an issue being litigated. — Also termed (in sense 3) ruling case.


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资深译员Jenny,国内名牌大学法律英语专业,专注翻译各种与重组、破产及重整有关的法律文件。
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