Why do Supreme Court cases set precedence for future rulings?

lothruin

The simple answer is because that is their job. The Supreme Court was made to act as a check and balance for the legislative and executive branches, and one of their jobs is to interpret whether a law, previous court ruling, amendment, etc., is constitutional. During cases which appear in front of the Supreme Court, the presiding members can determine whether a thing is constitutional, and therefore in future cases regarding the same type of event, the ruling of the Supreme Court, being the highest court in the land, takes precedence over any ruling a lower court, or in fact another branch of government, can make. Dec 22 04, 4:19 PM

Buck540

It is called stare decis. Courts operate under the system of "stare decis" (to stand on decided cases), and the key concept is precedent. http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~mabdulla/lectures/mba640/foundations.htm Dec 22 04, 5:49 PM

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