re: Justice Thomas urges U.S. Supreme Court to feel free to reverse precedents

quote:

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“true irony . . . that proponents of stare decisis tend to invoke it most fervently when the precedent at issue is least defensible.” Clarence Thomas

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So true.

Thomas gonna find himself dead if he even hinta this is about Roe

Stare decicis is a common law concept. Civil Law jurisdictions (most of continental europe and former french and spanish colonies) don’t have that concept. Under the civil law system, judges look to the literal meaning of the law, then the legislative intent, then only if those are inconclusive for solving the question of law at hand, look to prior court decisions as guidance. The common law system works sorta in reverse. They start with court decisions (precedent), then go to the literal meaning of the law, and finally try legislative intent as a last excuse.

Louisiana is a mixed jurisdiction, so it has elements of both common law (the english system) and the civil law (roman system). Due to that civil law influence, its judges tend to more follow the civil law approach to problem solving, and as a result, the state Supreme Court reverses itself on issues at a much higher rate than other states. In theory, at least, the judges strive to make the right decision rather than the most precedented decision.