Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The condition or state of having priority over another matter or person according to a system of ranking or rules. The priority determines which obligation, interest, or proceeding must be addressed or satisfied first when multiple claims compete.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Judge Preston Pratt received an invitation to speak at a family foundation gala on the same weekend the court calendar required him to preside over a high-profile sentencing. He declined the invitation and remained on the bench. The scheduling decision followed directly from the rule that judicial duties control over personal engagements.
Pennsylvania enacted detailed informed-consent and waiting-period rules for abortions. The Court weighed those provisions against a woman's liberty interest and concluded that the state's interest in potential life could take priority after viability without imposing an undue burden before that point.
After the death of their son, the Troxel grandparents petitioned for court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren. The Court held that the mother's fundamental parental rights took priority over the grandparents' request absent a showing that the children would suffer harm.
Reporter Branzburg declined to identify confidential sources before a grand jury investigating drug crimes. The Court ruled that the public interest in effective criminal prosecution took priority over the reporter's claim of a First Amendment privilege.
The Nation magazine printed excerpts from President Ford's unpublished memoirs before Harper & Row could release the authorized book. The Court held that the copyright owner's exclusive right to first publication took priority over the magazine's fair-use defense.
The Seminole Tribe sued Florida for failing to negotiate a gaming compact in good faith. The Court held that state sovereign immunity took priority over the federal cause of action Congress had attempted to create.
The rule requires judicial duties to come first. When a personal activity would create even the appearance of partiality, the judge must decline the activity so that public confidence in the judiciary remains intact.
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The rule gives the hearing precedence over all matters except older preliminary-injunction hearings. The court must set the hearing at the earliest practicable time and may not treat the motion as ordinary civil business.
…a reaffirmation of Roe 's explanation of why the State's obligation to protect the life or health of the mother must take precedence over any duty to the unborn. The Court in Roe carefully considered, and rejected, the State's argument "that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth…
…there are real and consequential differences between the two standards. On the question whether one standard must always take precedence over the other in order to protect the right of the parent or parents, "[o]ur Nation's history, legal traditions, and practices" do not give us clear or definitive answers. Washington v.…
…accept the argument that the public interest in possible future news about crime from undisclosed, unverified sources must take precedence over the public interest in pursuing and prosecuting those crimes reported to the press by informants and in thus deterring the commission of such crimes in the future. We note first that…
…his decision as one he picked up as a student at Yale Law School many years before. "I learned that public policy often took precedence
…branch of our Government. For this Court to conclude that timeworn shibboleths iterated and reiterated by judges should take precedence
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A valid, final injunction that bars enforcement of the judgment takes precedence because it is later in time and directly inconsistent with the judgment. Full faith and credit requires recognition of that later decree.
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An heir who cannot prove survival by 120 hours by clear and convincing evidence is deemed to have predeceased the decedent. The surviving heir therefore takes precedence in the distribution scheme.
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The future interest limits the estate the decedent actually held. Dower attaches only to that limited estate and therefore remains subordinate to the reserved right of entry or other future interest.
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A possessory lien created by operation of law in favor of a person who furnishes services in the ordinary course of business takes priority over an earlier security interest unless the creating statute expressly provides otherwise.
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