PHILOS 2Q03 Chapter Notes - Chapter Oliphant: Precedent
31 Mar 2018
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Readings 7 oliphant a return to stare decisis . We are on our way toward a shift from following decisions to following principles. Wants to restore stare decisis before big problems arise. Stare decisis both answers that prior decisions are to be followed and not disregarded and (2) that we are to follow prior decisions and not something else. In common law, if the statement of a case is the statement of another case that is narrow and specific in accordance with the talked about case, it is recognized as proper dictum. Court may throw out a broader statement, covering a whole group of cases : if the statement does not cover the case before the court, it is recognized as not a proper decision. There are a gradation of generalizations and ways of solving different cases. The double difficulty: each precedent considered by a judge and studied by a student rests in a vast space of emptiness.
