Primary Authority
| Type of Authority | When & Where Mandatory | When & Where Persuasive |
| U.S. Constitution | Always mandatory on all federal and state courts | N/A |
| U.S. Supreme Court decision interpreting & applying federal law (U.S.) | Always mandatory on all federal and state courts | N/A |
| Federal Statute (U.S.C) | Always mandatory on all federal and state courts | N/A |
| Federal Administrative Regulation (C.F.R.) | Always mandatory on all federal and state courts | N/A |
| U.S. Court of Appeals decision interpreting & applying federal law (F.3d) | Always mandatory on federal courts within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Court of Appeals issuing the decision | May be regarded as persuasive by federal state courts that do not need to treat the decision as mandatory |
| U.S. District Court decision interpreting & applying federal law (F.Supp.) | Always mandatory on specialized lower federal courts, if any, within the jurisdictional boundaries of the District Court issuing the decision & over which the District Court has appellate jurisdiction | May be regarded as persuasive by federal & state courts that do not need to treat the decision as mandatory |
| State Constitution | Always mandatory on all state courts within the given state | N/A |
| Decision of a state’s highest court interpreting & applying that state’s law (Mich.) | Always mandatory on all lower state courts within the given state | May be regarded as persuasive by federal & state courts that do not need to treat the decision as mandatory |
| Decision of a state’s intermediate jurisdiction (i.e. Mich. App.) | Always mandatory on all lower state courts within the jurisdictional boundaries of the intermediate appellate court issuing the decision; in some states, may also be mandatory on lower state courts outside those jurisdictional boundaries | May be regarded as persuasive by federal & state courts that do not need to treat the decision as mandatory |
| State Statute (i.e M.C.L.) | Always mandatory on all state courts within the given state | N/A |
| State Administrative Regulations (i.e Mich. Admin. Code) | Always mandatory on all state courts within the given state | N/A |
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Author Information
Bryan van Pottelsberghe is the Head of Public Services at the Tampa Bay campus library.
Last updated 4/20/09.
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