The U.S. supreme Court and the state supreme Courts are part of the appellate court systems in this country. The Facts, which are taken from the lower court's determination. The Issues, which are presented by the appealing parties. The Ruling or Holding, which is the answer to the issues. The Reasoning or Rationale, which is the discussion.
Most judges try hard to be consistent with decisions that they or a higher court have made.
This consistency is very important to the statutory law tradition. For this reason, if you can find a previous court decision that rules your way on facts similar to your situation, you have a good shot at persuading a judge to follow that case and decide in your favor. Under Civil Law, there are two ways to argue your case when you want to persuade a judge to rule your way. If the earlier decision was a U.S. supreme Court case, that case is the binding authority on all courts in this country. Under persuasive authority, as a general rule, the higher the court, the more persuasive its opinion.