List of landmark court decisions in the United States

The following landmark court decisions changed the interpretation of existing law in the United States. Such a decision may settle the law in more than one way:establishing a new legal principle or concept; overturning precedent based on its harmful effects or flaws in its reasoning; distinguishing a new principle that refines an existing principle, thus departing from prior practice without violating the rule of stare decisis; establishing a test or a measurable standard that can be applied by courts in future decisions.