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A.Word.A.Day--stare decisis

This week's theme: terms from law.

stare decisis (STAYR-ee di-SY-sis, STAR-) noun

The legal principle of following precedents in deciding a case, the idea that future decisions of a court should follow the example set by the prior decisions.

[Latin for "let the decision stand".]

"'The court (and, I think, the country) loses when important precedent is overruled without good reason, and there is no justification for departure from our usual rule of stare decisis here,' Justice David H. Souter wrote."
Robert Barnes; 5-4 Supreme Court Weakens Curbs on Pre-Election TV Ads; Washington Post; Jun 26, 2007.

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