Common-law principles bind only tentatively, since later courts may extend, modify, or abandon them

Evidence

The common-law principles that a court announces have only limited authority. When a state supreme court announces a principle of common law, it does so in the course of deciding a particular case. When subsequent cases arise that appear similar to the initial case, the court must decide whether to extend, modify, or abandon the principle it announced. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2808

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the limited authority of announced common-law principles as against the familiar myth of binding rule.
• XREF: Echoes Cardozo’s account of common-law growth through the judge’s choice among extend, modify, or abandon.