Unpublished Does Not Mean Unimportant

 

 

OPERATIONAL REALITIES

-- A judge may know about an unpublished opinion which resolves an appeal from his court.

-- A trial judge is likely to remember how the appeals court ruled on an issue he decided, whether or not the decision was published.

-- Judges may feel bound to decide subsequent cases in accordance with prior decisions of the appellate court, whether those decisions are published, cited, or not.

-- Trial judges can learn about unpublished cases from fellow judges, or in private conversations with knowledgeable individuals.

-- Unpublished opinions can and have come to judges anonymously.

UNPUBLISHED CASES SOMETIMES ARE INDISPENSABLE

 

LARGER CONSIDERATIONS