In case law, a test case is a legal action whose purpose is to set a precedent. An example of a test case might be a legal entity who files a lawsuit in order to see if the court considers a certain law or a certain legal precedent applicable in specific circumstances. This is useful, for example, in order to later file similar lawsuits in similar circumstances.
Government agencies sometimes bring test cases in order to confirm or expand their powers.
Examples
Examples of influential test cases include:
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- Scopes v. Tennessee (1925)
- United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (1933)
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
- Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
- Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida County (1974)
- Adams v Cape Industries plc (1990)
- Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992)
- National Westminster Bank plc v Spectrum Plus Limited (2005)
- District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
References
Test case (law) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA