THEMES: Stare Decisis

Stare Decisis (The Principle of Precedent, The Basis of the Common Law, Judge-Made law- Chapter 4 of Foundations of Law)

QUERY: What is the nature of a legal system based on a judicial elite which depends on prior judicial authority to decide new disputes and make new law?

The principle of stare decisis is explained in Chapter Four but it should be considered and pondered during the entire course since it is in many ways the foundation of legal thinking and reasoning in the American system.
Stare decisis is a Latin term which has been translated as "Let the decision stand." It refers to the principle of precedent, which is an ancient and powerful policy in Anglo-American law which requires judges to decide their cases by following the principles that previous judges have established in similar cases. Although precedent may be overruled, judges are reluctant to do so unless it is apparent that the former rule would be clearly unjust in present circumstances.
For most of Anglo-American legal history, law was made primarily by judges, resting their decisions on the wisdom of former cases. Although the modern era has seen legislation rise as a dominant form of lawmaking, in our system, we still search the cases (judicial decisions) to analyze the law, and, especially, to predict the outcome of a dispute if it were to be tried in a court of law .
It may not be immediately clear why this principle is so important. Perhaps you will begin to understand how it works and its importance as you do the exercises related to case briefing.

To submit an answer to a QUERY
If you would like to view RealMedia videos with Dr Pyle explaining basic features of Stare decisis, click one of the following:

  1. Introduction
  2. The Common Law
  3. Dictum
  4. Judicial Restraint

 

 

Stare Decisis
Trial and Appeal
The Adversarial Process
Jurisdictional Complexity