Judges and Judiciary
Dec. 18, 2023
How to use precedent cases
Many attorneys see appellate judges as ATM’s in black robes. Just insert the precedent, type in a few facts, apply the precedent to them, and bingo – out spits the ruling.
Myron Moskovitz
Legal Director
Moskovitz Appellate Team
90 Crocker Ave
Piedmont , CA 94611-3823
Phone: (510) 384-0354
Email: myronmoskovitz@gmail.com
UC Berkeley SOL Boalt Hal
Myron Moskovitz is author of Strategies On Appeal (CEB, 2021; digital: ceb.com; print: https://store.ceb.com/strategies-on-appeal-2) and Winning An Appeal (5th ed., Carolina Academic Press). He is Director of Moskovitz Appellate Team, a group of former appellate judges and appellate research attorneys who handle and consult on appeals and writs. See MoskovitzAppellateTeam.com. The Daily Journal designated Moskovitz Appellate Team as one of California's top boutique law firms. Myron can be contacted at myronmoskovitz@gmail.com or (510) 384-0354. Prior "Moskovitz On Appeal" columns can be found at http://moskovitzappellateteam.com/blog.
“I always say that when someone uses stare decisis, that means they’re out of arguments. Now they’re just waving the white flag.”
Thus spake U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. As former Justice Scalia noted, Justice Thomas “does not believe in stare decisis, period.”
Justice Thomas’s statement well captured his approach to interpreting the Constitution (and, presumably, any statutory enactment). For him...
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