first impression

[victor steinbok]

"First impression" is not in OED in the legal sense or in any other
jargon (e.g., publishing). I am skipping actual citations since they
are quite numerous, only relying on other dictionary definitions.

The one entry that is there is the "sensory" one:

>  6. The effect produced by external force or influence on the senses or mind.
>  b. An effect, especially a strong effect, produced on the intellect, conscience, or feelings. Esp. in phr. *first impression(s)*.


Checking some on-line legal dictionaries leaves a lot to be desired.
MW Dictionary of Law has

> first consideration or judgment

Another popular site gives a more elaborate account:

> When an issue is brought before a court which has not addressed the issue before it is called a case of first impression.

Not to put too fine a point on it, this definition is just wrong. It's
not that when a matter is brought before a court, this court has never
considered this particular matter, but that there has never been a
precedence in any court on whose opinion this court relies. In legal
systems where precedence is king, courts of first instance only get to
ponder theoretical issues in cases of first impression.

One place that gets it right, however, is the legal dictionary at Law.com (ALM).

> adj. referring to a legal issue which has never been decided by an appeals court and, therefore, there is no precedent for the court to follow. To reach a decision the court must use its own logic, analogies from prior rulings by appeals courts and refer to commentaries and articles by legal scholars. In such cases the trial judge usually asks for legal briefs by attorneys for both sides to assist him/her.

There is still a bit of dissatisfaction to this, as "appeals court" is
a bit narrow--it's really any higher authority, which is, in most US
cases, an appeals court (or a high court, to which cases are appealed
from the appeals courts--names vary by state). And, in fact, sometimes
a distinction is made between a jurisdictional first-impression issue
and a general one--the former means that no courts within a particular
system that have precedent-setting power have considered the issue,
while the latter refers to issues that have not been considered by any
court (usually meaning any US court). So, for example, the "individual
mandate" of the ACA is often considered to be a first-impression
issue--that is, no federal court has considered whether "economic
inactivity" can be regulated by Congress. Note, however, that each
court gets to decide whether something is or is not a first-impression
issue, as some courts may connect it to earlier decisions. Wiki comes
closest to describing the distinction.

Nolo's legal dictionary does not even have a separate entry for "first
impression", sending the reader instead to "case of first impression".
Obviously the two are closely related.

> A court case that presents a new question or issue for legal interpretation (or at least new within that court's jurisdiction). For example, the question may concern recently passed or rarely used legislation. In making its decision, the court may consider -- but is not bound by -- decisions from other state or federal courts or commentaries by legal scholars, as well as the arguments and briefs submitted by lawyers in the case.

Farlex has three parallel definition, one matching ALM, one fairly
generic and irrelevant, and one taken from West's Encyclopedia of
American Law (which I just saw at a local library sale for a grand
total of $25):

> A case is labeled of the first impression when it sets forth a completely original issue of law for decision by the court. Such a case cannot be decided by reliance on any existing precedent, law formulated in a prior case decided on a comparable question of law, or similar facts.


Another jargon use of "first impression" is in publishing. "First
impression" is the copies produced in the first run of the
printer--usually prior to minor corrections. This is different from
"first edition". Once corrections are applied, it is no longer "first
impression", but it may still be "first edition".

Also, when vinyl records were still the main mode of music
distribution, there was a "first impression" of records, which was a
very rare set of records produced from a limited press run from the
first generation of masters. The way record printing worked IIRC is
with the first set of masters being used to generate several
generations of subsequent sets of masters (plates that were used to
print the actual vinyl records). With each print run, the masters
would become duller, losing the edge and resulting in lower-quality
sound from the records. After several press runs, a master would be
retired and a new second-generation master would be produced and used
in the same way. A popular record might have undergone several
generations of masters and several masters being used in production at
once. Remastering often involved producing /new/ first-generation
masters from the original /master tapes/ because the old printing
masters had been worn down.

VS-)

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