stare decisis

[ stair-ee di-sahy-sis ]

noun

, Law.

1. the doctrine that rules or principles of law on which a court rested a previous decision are authoritative in all future cases in which the facts are substantially the same.

stare decisis

1. A Latin phrase that literally means “to stand on the decisions.” It expresses the common law doctrine that court decisions should be guided by precedent .

Word History and Origins

Origin of stare decisis¹

First recorded in 1855–60, stare decisis is from Latin stāre dēcīsīs “to stand by things (that have been) settled”

Example Sentences

All said they respected stare decisis, the principle that justices should be guided by the decisions made by previous courts, such as Roe and Planned Parenthood vs.

From Los Angeles Times

Barry Friedman, a law professor at New York University and the author of a 2010 article on “stealth overruling,” said such data have limitations in assessing the court’s commitment to the principle of stare decisis, legal Latin for “to stand by things decided.”

From New York Times

“You can’t look at historical figures about stare decisis and know anything,” he said, “because sometimes courts and justices are honest about overruling precedent and sometimes they are not.”

From New York Times

United States, declined to overrule Miranda because “stare decisis weighs heavily against overruling it now.”

From Slate

Given Thomas’ famous disdain for stare decisis, it is mysterious, at best, that he relied on two such plainly erroneous precedents, which contradicted the plain text of the applicable rules.

From Slate