Judicial Opinions Quotes
There is a school of thought that argues that American courts should NEVER look at the opinions of foreign courts. They argue that our legal system is determined by the Constitution and American Laws as well as the English Common Law. They believe that no consideration or weight should by given to court opinions even from Canada or Australia. Most jurists agree with Breyer. Foreign legal precedents should be examined to see what might be learned but should not be determinatitive.
of the Railroad Retirement Act. to expand the Supreme Court to fifteen justices
Relying on precedent in judicial decisions has the potential problem of perpetuating errors of the past. However, not to do so, creates doubt and uncertainty vitiating one of the major functions of the higher courts---to set the rules for all. In this particular case, the other justices did not agree that there had been a previous error and so Rehnquist’s view was a minority dissent, almost all judges would agree with this principle.
