Define: Test Case

Test cases are legal actions that are initiated to challenge or provide clarification on an existing law. The objective is to create a “controversy” in order to bring the matter before a court, which would not have otherwise been subject to legal action. The aim is to compel the court to make a ruling on a specific issue, so litigants must carefully select a case that possesses advantageous facts, location, and timing. Test cases are employed to obtain a favorable ruling from courts at all levels, but they are most commonly utilised to secure a ruling from the Supreme Court on a matter of significance. However, the outcome of the test case typically has far-reaching implications, as it determines the outcome of numerous other cases that are awaiting resolution. Thus, the impact of a test case extends well beyond the immediate litigants involved.

Test cases are legal actions brought with the intention of challenging or receiving clarification on a present law. The strategy involves creating a “controversy” to get into a court that otherwise would not lead to a legal action because courts must have an actual dispute to hear a case. Litigants strategically choose the right case to bring with beneficial facts, location, and timing so that a court makes a ruling based on the issue brought by the litigants rather than on another issue. Test cases are used to get a favorable ruling by all levels of courts, but the practice most popularly has been used to get a ruling by the Supreme Court on an important issue. For example, in the civil rights cases of the late 19th and 20th centuries, non-profit organisations, businesses, or the government itself used test cases to challenge discriminatory laws and practices. Many of the most well-known cases in the history of the Supreme Court are test cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson, Griswold v. Connecticut, and Brown v. Board of Education. The strategy of using test cases must be done in a careful manner because the result of bringing the case could be the opposite of that intended. These unintended outcomes of test cases can lead to long-term consequences that can be difficult to reverse in the future. Also, the outcome of the test case typically determines the outcome of many other cases waiting on the outcome, meaning the test case impacts much more than the litigants in the present case. For example, a non-profit organisation brings a test case to challenge a state law that requires voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls. The organisation strategically chooses a plaintiff who is elderly and does not have a driver’s licence, making it difficult for them to obtain the required ID. The case is brought in a district court that has previously ruled against similar voter ID laws. The goal is to get a favorable ruling that will set a precedent for other states with similar laws. If successful, the ruling could make it easier for people without photo IDs to vote in future elections.

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This glossary post was last updated: 17th April 2024.