Persuasive authority
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Persuasive authority authority
A source a court MAY consider and be influenced by, but does not have to follow — for example, a decision from another state, an old English case, or a law dictionary.
Technical: Non-binding authority that a court may look to for its reasoning or weight — decisions of other jurisdictions, lower or coordinate courts, treatises, law dictionaries, and historical materials such as The Federalist — without being obligated to follow it.
Sources: Cornell LII — Persuasive authority
A dictionary entry is reference: it describes how a term is used. It is not itself binding law. Why that matters →
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