{"id":5653,"date":"2014-07-30T10:55:46","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T02:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elijahconsulting.com\/?page_id=5653"},"modified":"2018-07-26T13:53:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T05:53:30","slug":"stare-decisis-lessons-for-transformational-leaders","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elijahconsulting.com\/stare-decisis-lessons-for-transformational-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Stare Decisis. Lessons for Transformational Leaders."},"content":{"rendered":"
Download the pdf<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. Download the audio<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Stare decisis<\/em> is a legal term meaning \u201cApplication of the law by precedent.\u201d It is a concept requiring cases to be judged according to decisions made earlier in a higher court of law. Stare decisis<\/em> is not universally applied, and we will come to see why that is a good thing in some ways.<\/span><\/p>\n In many places, the practice of law has become evolutionary in nature. \u201cLaw is what the Justices say it is\u201d, as has been said in the United States. The practice of law used to be based on universal, non-negotiable principles. Common law is akin to that. However, when legal practitioners say that law is \u201cevolutionary\u201d, then interpretation and application become subject to the Justices\u2019 prevailing senses about what constitutes right and wrong. Do note that I said right and wrong, not legal or illegal. Something may be right morally, but still be classified as illegal in the eyes of the law. This is like an IFR[1]-certified pilot trusting his own fallible senses more than what his flight instruments are telling him! Now, when stare decisis<\/em> is applied in a ruling, it is not too bad if the previous ruling had been based on universal, non-negotiable principles. Even then, the previous ruling is an instance of case law<\/em>, and can never fully represent the spirit<\/em> of the law. Therefore, reliance on past rulings must needs be restricted to using them as examples of how to apply the law in the current case under consideration, and not be copied to the letter. Stare decisis\u00a0<\/em>is great if higher principles are called upon. It is devastating if it falls back upon fallible human interpretations.<\/span><\/p>\n