To supersede; annul; reject by subsequent action or decision. A judicial decision is said to be overruled when a later decision, rendered by the same court or by a superior court in the same system, expresses a judgment upon the same question or law directly opposite to that which was before given, thereby depriving the earlier opinion of all authority as a precedent. The term is not properly applied to conflicting decisions on the same point by coordinate oi independent tribunals. OVERRULE 865 OWNER In another sense, “overrule” is spoken of the action of a court in refusing to sustain, or recognize as sufficient, an objection made in the course of a trial, as to the introduc- tion of particular evidence, etc.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
