Settled Versus Right: A Theory of Precedent - Softcover

Kozel, Randy J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107566525 ISBN 13: 9781107566521

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2017

Synopsis

In this timely book, Randy J. Kozel develops a theory of precedent designed to enhance the stability and impersonality of constitutional law. Kozel contends that the prevailing approach to precedent in American law is undermined by principled disagreements among judges over the proper means and ends of constitutional interpretation. The structure and composition of the doctrine all but guarantee that conclusions about the durability of precedent will track individual views about whether decisions are right or wrong, and whether mistakes are harmful or benign. This is a serious challenge, but it also reveals a path toward maintaining legal continuity even as judges come and go. Kozel's account of precedent should be read by anyone interested in the nature of the judicial role and the trajectory of constitutional law.

About this title

About the Author

Randy J. Kozel is a Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where he also serves as Director of the Notre Dame Program on Constitutional Structure. Professor Kozel received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the US Supreme Court and for Judge Alex Kozinski at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also practiced as a litigator with a large law firm and as an in-house attorney at a multinational corporation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1107566525
• ISBN 13: 9781107566521
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 188