The law of the case is a doctrine in common law jurisdictions that follow stare decisis, holding that once a court, usually an appellate court, has decided a legal question in a given case, that decision governs later stages of the same case and generally cannot be relitigated. It most often arises when a case goes through more than one appeal or when an appellate court remands a matter back to the trial court for further proceedings, and the rule is meant to promote judicial efficiency and finality rather than operate as an absolute bar. Courts recognize exceptions where substantially different evidence is presented at a later trial, where a controlling authority has since ruled to the contrary, or where the earlier decision was clearly erroneous and following it would work a manifest injustice; barring one of those circumstances, the prior ruling stands.
Facts
Core PrincipleOnce an appellate court resolves a legal issue in a case, that resolution binds the trial court and any later appeal in the same case to promote finality. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
In Legal System
General common law procedural doctrine that a court's own prior ruling in a case governs later stages of the same case.
Sources
1. Law of the Case (Cornell LII Wex)
Cornell Law School Legal Information InstituteCornell LII Wex, Law of the Case entry, opening definitional sentenceQuote, Cornell LII Wex, Law of the Case entry, opening definitional sentence
The law of the case doctrine provides that an appellate court's determination of a legal issue binds both the trial court and the court on appeal in any subsequent retrial or appeal involving the same case and substantially the same facts.
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