Precedent plays a crucial role in shaping the law and ensuring consistency in judicial decision-making. When courts make decisions in cases, those decisions can serve as precedents for future cases with similar legal issues. Here’s how court decisions and precedent impact the law:
1. Stare Decisis and Consistency: Stare decisis is a legal principle that holds that courts should adhere to precedent and respect prior decisions, rulings, and opinions from previous cases
. This principle helps maintain consistency and predictability in the interpretation and application of the law. By following precedent, courts can avoid making seemingly random or arbitrary decisions
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2. Influence on Future Decisions: Precedents influence the decisions of later courts in various ways. In the civil law tradition, precedents are often used to tip the balance in favor of particular outcomes and illustrate how a legal point has been dealt with before. In the common law tradition, precedents are binding and must be followed by lower courts within the same legal system and jurisdiction
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3. Vertical Stare Decisis: Vertical stare decisis refers to the application of precedent from a higher court. For example, if a lower court adheres to a previous ruling by a higher court, that would be an example of vertical stare decisis
. Higher court decisions generally take precedence over lower court decisions, ensuring uniformity in the interpretation of the law.
4. Super Precedents: Some legal opinions are considered super precedents, which are fundamental to the American justice system and are virtually permanent decisions that are impervious to overruling. The list of super precedents is a subject of debate and is often discussed when a U.S. Supreme Court case arises
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5. Limitations and Exceptions: While precedent is generally followed, there are limitations and exceptions. When prior decisions are unworkable or badly reasoned, the Supreme Court may choose not to follow precedent, particularly in constitutional cases. Additionally, some legal systems may prohibit courts from relying on precedents or limit their use as a legal basis for reaching justified decisions
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