Precedent that must be applied or followed is known as binding precedent (alternately mandatory precedent, mandatory or binding authority, etc.). Under the doctrine of stare decisis, a lower court must honor findings of law made by a higher court that is within the appeals path of cases the court hears.
Update at 9:55 a.m. ET. 'Talk' To Go Off The Air At The End Of July; Decision Came After Discussions With Stations: The New York Times adds that the plan is the product of discussions that began more than two years ago between NPR and some of its biggest member stations.
Scroll down for video... Big no-no: Chicago-based TV station WGN Morning news accidentally hung up on Oprah Winfrey during a phone interview on Tuesday. Error message: The talk show maven was telling the four anchors about the OWN lineup that evening when she got cut off, pictured in LA in August.