On Precedent: Learning from the Past Without Living in It

Every law student encounters the concept of precedent early on. It is the principle that decisions of the past inform the judgements of the present. Precedent gives structure to justice; it ensures that reason is not reinvented with every new case. Yet while precedent provides order to law, when applied unthinkingly to life, it can become a quiet form of imprisonment. We are meant to learn from what has been, not to live there.