Browse:  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
     
Enter a Legal Term

Search the Definitions

on all fours

adj. a reference to a lawsuit in which all the legal issues are identical (or so close as to make no difference) to another case, particularly an appeals decision which is a precedent in deciding the suit before the court. Thus, an attorney will argue that the prior case of, for example, Steele v. Merritt is "on all fours" with the case before the court, and so the court must reach the same conclusion.

See also: precedent 



The People's Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill Publisher Fine Communications