set a precedent

Idioms  

1. Establish a usage, tradition, or standard to be followed in the future. For example, He set a precedent by having the chaplain lead the academic procession. The word precedent here signifies a previous instance or legal decision upon which future instances are based, a usage dating from the early 1400s. In British and American law it more specifically refers to a legal decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent cases.

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Example Sentences

Some environmental experts and lawmakers worry that abandoning long-established wildfire protocols, like soil testing, may set a precedent where disaster victims will assume more costs and work to ensure that their properties are safe to return to and rebuild upon.

From Los Angeles Times

Assuming it does, Aaron says, “the biggest goal here is to set a precedent”—to get the sort of judgment that could apply to ICEBlock and to the other ICE-related apps that have been taken down at the request of the feds.

From Slate

Human rights groups and former military lawyers warn the decision could set a precedent for unchecked lethal force far beyond U.S. borders.

From Salon

The civil case could set a precedent for holding school officials accountable for shootings on campus.

From The Wall Street Journal

That decision applied to an old historic district but could set a precedent for the entire island.

From The Wall Street Journal