Stare Decisis 101
Toggle open close S tare decisis is a Latin phrase meaning “to stand by things decided.”REF In the judicial context, it is also known as the “doctrine of precedent, under which a court must follow earlier judicial decisions when the same points arise again in litigation.”REF The U.S. Supreme Court has said that stare decisis is “of fundamental importance to the rule of law.”REF The part it plays in actual judicial decisionmaking, however, is complex, and varies depending on the judicial system, court, and category of case. A recent treatise on the subject, for example, spans more...
Source: heritage.org