The notion that courts should rely on precedents to decide the outcome of simila

The notion that courts should rely on precedents to decide the outcome of similar cases has long been a cornerstone of U.S. law. Nevertheless the availability of ?ounpublished opinions?? over the Internet is changing what the law considers to be precedent. An unpublished opinion is a decision made by an appellate court that is not intended for publication in a reporter (the bound books that contain court opinions).a Courts traditionally have not considered unpublished opinions to be ?oprecedent?? binding or persuasive and attorneys often have not been allowed to refer to these decisions in their arguments.