Case of first impression

Case of first impression

A case of first impression (known as "primae impressionis" in Latin) is a legal case in which there is no binding authority on the matter presented. A case of first impression may be a case of first impression in only a particular jurisdiction. In that situation, courts will look to holdings of other jurisdictions for persuasive authority.

Where no persuasive authority exists, a judge will look to legal analogies, legal commentary, legal briefs of the parties, and his or her own legal logic.

In some situations, a case of first impression may exist in a jurisdiction until a reported appellate court decision is rendered.

For example, when e-mail came to be used in business settings, if some party was sued by another, at some point someone would use the contents of some of the e-mails as evidence in their case. The other side may challenge the use of e-mail in such a case, questioning the validity of the material in question (e-mail, like any electronic document, can be easily fabricated; in fact, absent the use of cryptographic techniques such as digital signatures, it is far easier to forge e-mail than paper documents). Now, the first court to be asked whether e-mail is valid as evidence would be seeing the question as one of "first impression".


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • case of first impression — see case 1a Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. case of first impression …   Law dictionary

  • case of first impression — See first impression case …   Black's law dictionary

  • case of first impression — See first impression case …   Black's law dictionary

  • case of first impression — See first impression …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • case of first impression — Etymology: case (I) : a case presenting a novel question of law for which no controlling precedent can be found …   Useful english dictionary

  • first impression — first im·pres·sion n: first consideration or judgment see also case of first impression at case Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • first impression case — First examination. First presentation of question of law to a court for examination or decision. A case is said to be of the first impression when it presents an entirely novel question of law for the decision of the court, and cannot be governed …   Black's law dictionary

  • first impression case — First examination. First presentation of question of law to a court for examination or decision. A case is said to be of the first impression when it presents an entirely novel question of law for the decision of the court, and cannot be governed …   Black's law dictionary

  • case — 1 n [Latin casus accident, event, set of circumstances, literally, act of falling] 1 a: a civil or criminal suit or action the judicial power shall extend to all case s, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution U.S. Constitution art.… …   Law dictionary

  • impression — I noun animi motus, apprehension, belief, concept, conception, consciousness, consideration, effect, feeling, general notion, guiding conception, image, image in the mind, impact, imprint, indirect influence, influence, inward perception, mark,… …   Law dictionary

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