The phrase "a precedent to a" is not correct in standard written English.
It seems to be an incomplete expression and lacks clarity without additional context.
Example: "This case serves as a precedent to a future ruling on similar matters."
Alternatives: "a precedent for" or "a precedent regarding".
Ever since Williams announced his retirement, many of us have scrambled to find a precedent to make sense of such a drastic departure from the norm.
ʿUdhrī poetry belongs to a courtly love tradition, and indeed many scholars have suggested it as a precedent to the development of a similar strand in Western literatures during the Middle Ages.
If the democratic process had continued there, the Muslim Brotherhood's political practices could have matured and become more inclusive, and the unimaginable peaceful rotation of power could have become a reality and a precedent to be followed.
It's generally a two-step process: in confronting a politically charged issue, the court first decides a case in a "narrow" way, but then uses that decision as a precedent to move in a more dramatic, conservative direction in a subsequent case.
I sincerely doubt they'll allow a precedent to be set by such a ridiculous case.
Rather than the current use of restorative justice after a defendant has been found guilty, Cheryl envisions victim-perpetrator circles as "a precedent to or even a replacement for trial, if both parties are satisfied.
Thus, although the function of this family of proteins on tumor vasculature has never been directly addressed, there is a precedent to suggest a role for these molecules in both vessel formation and the maintenance of vascular integrity.
Self-tests for cancer could alter perceptions of risk and health behaviour, cause psychological morbidity, could potentially be misused (e.g. if testing became a precedent to employment) and could have a significant impact on the demand for healthcare.
An arraignment normally, however, affords an opportunity of the accused to plead, as a condition precedent to a trial.
American courts have long construed this to mean that some showing of "publicness" is a condition precedent to a legitimate exercise of the power of eminent domain.
