Definition of precedent | Bee Dictionary of English

n an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time
n (civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial decisions
n a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather than statutory laws
n a subject mentioned earlier (preceding in time)
s preceding in time, order, or significance

Aristotle's premise was that judges should rule not from passion but with reason and precedent.
Last week the War Department, in trying to rectify a political blunder, broke a precedent as old as the Army.
University professors of all degrees and complexions of personal probity last week had the moral satisfaction of seeing a distinguished precedent established to separate their .

The 'Black Swan' Intern Ruling Could Change Unpaid Internships Forever
The case of the unpaid American intern just got upended — again, and maybe for good: Just a month after one judge dismissed the class-action suit filed by free New York City media interns at Hearst Magazines, another has now granted the Hollywood coffee-fetchers who worked on Black Swan a precedent-setting win, ruling that the two production interns "worked as paid employees" and that Fox ...
June 12, 2013 - The Atlantic Wire via Yahoo! News
Italy: Court Rules on Transgender "Same Sex" Wedding
What could be an extremely important precedent-setting legal case for Marriage Equality in Italy, was just ruled on by the Court of Cassation (FYI - The Italian judicial system is a little confusing: the CofC is considered to be one of the 2 "supreme courts" of Italy, and is called "the supreme court", but it is more like an appeals court.
June 11, 2013 - Gayapolis
West Moberly Unveils Precedent Setting "Action Plan" to Save Threatened Caribou Herd
This morning, West Moberly First Nations unveiled a precedent setting plan to save the Klinse-za caribou herd from the brink of extinction. The plan follows the requirements of Canada's Species at Risk ...
June 10, 2013 - Marketwired via Yahoo! Finance

Samuel Alito in Allentown Morning Call
In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said, "Brushing aside inconvenient precedent, the (majority) arms public educational institutions with a handy weapon for suppressing the speech of unpopular groups - groups to which, as Hastings candidly puts...
Rudy Giuliani in International Herald Tribune
It would be OK to repeal it. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist viewed it as precedent,said Giuliani, who has a record of supporting abortion rights.
Mitch McConnell in Anniston Star (subscription)
The court has upheld a landmark commission decision to give consumers more choice in software markets. That decision sets an important precedent in terms of the obligations of dominant companies to allow competition, in particular in high tech... Neelie Kroes http://www.google.com/url?q=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neelie_Kroes&source=dictionary&usg=AFQjCNH4d-pnTPAwLiHSqJvvB6gwkkyUrg CNNMoney.com http://www.google.com/url?q=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200709170536DOWJONESDJONLINE000174_FORTUNE5.htm&source=dictionary&usg=AFQjCNGTQJt_S9avQ_5edc_fUlX-_UmEkw Sep 17, 2007 76742 103732 precedential McConnell believes the bailout legislation was necessary but not necessarily precedential."