Legal Precedent: Legal Precedent
Another source of law in judicial decision-making traces its origin to the British common-law tradition known as precedent. The idea is that like cases should be decided alike. The Supreme Court generally follows its precedents because it is conside...
Most Basic of Rights, The: Implied Right of Privacy, The
In 1965 the Supreme Court added privacy to the list of protections, reasoning that the freedoms in the Bill of Rights imply an underlying right of privacy. In succeeding decades that interpretation has led to several controversial decisions like Roe...
Abortion Rights and Slavery
Philosopher Michael Sandel criticizes those who contend the Supreme Court should be neutral on the question of when life begins (the position that led to the Roe v. Wade decision). He is also critical of those who thought the court should be neutral...