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June 30, 2022

In the wake of Roe being aborted, some liberal politicians, such as senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Susan Collins (R-Me.), are crying foul because they claim that SCOTUS justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch deceived them over stare decisis (respect for precedent) during confirmation hearings. What’s unsaid is that stare decisis is itself a deception. In fact, our Founders would be aghast at the standard. Why? It’s simple:

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If a precedent clearly conforms to the Constitution, then regard for stare decisis is unnecessary for a precedent-aligned ruling; all a justice need do is reference the Constitution and he’ll vote incidentally in accordance with the precedent.

If the precedent doesn’t conform to the Constitution, it is then illegal and should be overturned, which a justice will vote to do if he, again, references the Constitution.

In other words, exalting stare decisis serves no legitimate purpose. The people doing so are generally individuals who dislike the Constitution’s dictates, but know they could never amend the document (get the people’s consent) in accordance with their wishes. So they instead uphold this notion that convenient “precedent” — i.e., the will of a handful of judges — should supersede the supreme law of the land, the Constitution. It’s no wonder Justice Clarence Thomas stated last month, “I always say that when someone uses stare decisis, that means they’re out of arguments.”

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But here’s what hasn’t been said: In complaining they were deceived by Gorsuch and Kavanaugh,  Manchin and Collins are in glass houses with millimeter-thick walls.

For they are violating their oaths.

Upon assuming office, the senators took an oath to uphold the Constitution.

They did not take an oath to uphold precedent.

Yet when they make adherence to stare decisis a prerequisite for SCOTUS confirmation, they’re seeking to ensure that their chosen justices will place precedent before the Constitution. They are thus violating their oath of office by proxy.

In reality, consulting precedent is only necessary for a judge if he’s honestly unsure of what a constitutional provision dictates in a given case and wishes to benefit from past wisdom; in such an event, however, precedent is merely part of historical analysis and study, not a constraining stricture.