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Law vocabulary · Judgments, Appeals & Remedies

Overrule

Meaning in law, with examples

/ˌəʊvəˈruːl/verbAdvanced term

In law, overrule means: To reject an objection made during a hearing, or, for a higher court, to declare that a precedent set in an earlier case was wrong and should no longer be followed.

In Turkish: (itirazı) reddetmek, (önceki içtihadı) değiştirmek, içtihattan dönmek

How it is used

In trials the judge says 'Overruled' to reject an objection and 'Sustained' to accept it. In case law, a court 'overrules' an earlier decision made in a different case; this is not the same as 'overturning' or 'reversing' the decision under appeal in the same case.

Example sentences

  1. The objection was overruled, and the witness had to answer.

  2. The Supreme Court overruled its own decision from 1998.

Common collocations

  • objection overruled
  • overrule a decision
  • overrule a precedent
  • expressly overruled
  • objectionA formal protest by a lawyer during a hearing that a question, a piece of evidence or a step in the procedure is not allowed under the rules.
  • precedentAn earlier court decision that judges use as an example or a rule when they decide later cases with similar facts or legal questions.
  • overturnTo officially cancel or reverse a decision of a lower court, so that it no longer has any effect.
  • stare decisisThe principle that courts should follow earlier decisions on the same legal question, so that the law stays consistent and predictable; Latin for 'to stand by things decided'.
  • supreme courtThe highest court in a country or state, whose decisions on legal questions usually bind lower courts and cannot be appealed any further.

More terms: Judgments, Appeals & Remedies

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.