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.
Not only are there plenty of other stations on American TV that already follow this brief, but it is arguably precisely this kind of soupy self-help that made Winfrey's talkshow look increasingly dated. The channel is also lacking the one thing that might make this network unique â Oprah herself. Although Winfrey is contracted to appear on the channel for 70 hours a year, she will not be bringing her talkshow, which will continue to run on network TV until September 2011.