rule of decision

plural rules of decision

1. lawA legal authority (e.g., a statute or judicial precedent) that governs the resolution of a particular case.

   1 more example

   We have made efforts to think through a fair number of the issues, and we have written about two of the most likely issues that the Court will address and which may resolve the case: (i) that Griffin's Case (1869) provides the rule of decision, that is, Section 3 necessitates federal enforcement legislation; and (ii) that the President is not an "Officer of the United States."

   2024 January 11, Josh Blackman, Seth Barrett Tillman, “We're In The Section 3 Endgame Now”, in The Volokh Conspiracy