Final answer:
To verify if a case is still considered good law, one must review current legal precedents and updates, examining later legal decisions to see if the case has been affected. Court composition changes and social developments can also impact a case's legal standing, as seen in historical shifts such as from the Plessy to the Brown Supreme Court rulings.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine if a case is still good law, one must research current legal statutes, precedents, and judicial interpretation. This involves checking if the case has been overturned, questioned, or otherwise altered by later legal decisions. Legal databases and citation guides are typically used to trace the treatment of a case over time.
Case law, or judicial decisions, make up a significant portion of the legal system, as they establish legal precedents. These precedents are usually adhered to through the principle of stare decisis, meaning 'to stand by things decided.' However, new rulings and judicial interpretations by higher courts can overrule or modify the application of these precedents.
Factors such as societal change, new evidence, or shifts in the membership of a court, such as the Supreme Court, can influence whether a case remains applicable. For instance, the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson was eventually upended by Brown v. Board of Education, demonstrating that a case once considered 'good law' might not remain so indefinitely.
When a case involves new areas of law or conflicts with existing precedents, judicial rulings can create new case law. Checking the latest legal commentaries can also provide insight into a case's current standing within the legal community.