if a lower court deviates from binding precedent on a settled legal issue, the court must _________.
a. petition the state supreme court or the United States Supreme Court to reverse the existing judicial precedent.
b. justify its decision by articulating an essential factual or legal difference from the precedent case.
c. refer the case to a judicial mediator to determine whether the existing judicial precedent should still apply to the case.
d. refer the case to a judicial arbitrator to determine, by way of binding arbitration, whether the existing judicial precedent will still apply to the case.
