SMNR: Precedent and Persuasion

• Semester: Spring 2026
• Course ID: 397S
• Credit Hours: 3
• Unique: 30214

Registration Status: Closed

Description

Respect for precedent is a cornerstone of the U.S. legal system. But the details about how precedent works—and how advocates and judges use it to persuade each other—don’t always receive focused attention. 

This seminar will explore the nature of precedent from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In the first part of the course, we will consider theoretical questions about the nature of precedent: Why have a system of precedent? What exactly is precedent? And how does it bind future decisionmakers (…or does it)? In the second part of the course, we’ll take a more practical approach, reading briefs and judicial decisions to see how advocates and judges invoke precedent to justify their positions and persuade others that their views of the law are correct.  

Evaluation will be based on class participation and a final paper.