Principle
The principle of stare decisis can be divided into two components.
The first is the rule that a decision made by a superior court, or by the same court in an earlier decision, is binding precedent that the court itself and all its inferior courts are obligated to follow. The second is the principle that a court should not overturn its own precedent unless there is a strong reason to do so and should be guided by principles from lateral and inferior courts. The second principle, regarding persuasive precedent, is an advisory one that courts can and do ignore occasionally.
Read more about this topic: Binding Precedent
Famous quotes containing the word principle:
“If there be one principle more deeply rooted than any other in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“To light one candle to God and another to the Devil is the principle of wisdom.”
—José Bergamín (1895–1983)
“No two men see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will apply in different ways a principle that they both acknowledge. The same man will, indeed, often see and judge the same things differently on different occasions: early convictions must give way to more mature ones. Nevertheless, may not the opinions that a man holds and expresses withstand all trials, if he only remains true to himself and others?”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)