Legal Research & Writing

Rule Check: Which Authority Binds?

Authority & Hierarchy

Rule RecognitionMedium
Est. 8 min

Hypothetical

You are drafting a memo about a question of state contract law. Your state's highest court has not addressed the issue. The highest court of a neighboring state has published an opinion on point. A federal district court in your state issued an unpublished order reaching the opposite conclusion. Your state's intermediate appellate court applied the doctrine in a two-sentence footnote fifteen years ago.

Call of the question

Which authority governs your recommendation?

Choose the single answer that reflects the correct weighting of authority.

How this is scored

This scenario turns on one controlling rule, so the score is all or nothing — the correct rule scores 100%, any other choice scores 0%.

score = issues found ÷ (found + missed + unsupported)

Choose the single best answer, then submit.

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