Advocates debate whether case factual similarities are legally material

Evidence

Plaintiff’s lawyer may argue that the historical event or entity “A”—in law, a putative precedent—bears many resemblances to the case at bar, “B.” The opponent will argue that although the facts in “A” and “B” are similar in some respects, this does not mean that those similarities are material and therefore relevant, or that the cases are similar in other respects; he or she will argue that a false analogy is present. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 581

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 581
• XREF: connects to: Legal analogy argues from particular facts to particular consequences based on similarities — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 547; Valid legal analogies depend on relevant similarities rather than case quantities — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 343; The scope and meaning of legal rules depend on factual similarities — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 151 (+11 more)

Library Connections

• Legal reasoning reduces to the judge drawing distinctions and the lawyer predicting them #complicates (0.50) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1301

Broader Connections

• Materiality of a new circumstance determines whether precedent extends to analogous facts. #expands (0.80) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1292
• Valid legal analogies depend on relevant similarities rather than case quantities #expands (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 343
• Common-law principles help judges determine if case differences are significant #corroborates (0.70) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 715
• A case is precedent only when material facts match exactly #contradicts (0.65) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1299
• The scope and meaning of legal rules depend on factual similarities #qualifies (0.60) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 151
• Debunking legal concepts first requires a theory of how we actually use them #expands (0.35) — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 12