In 1992, the Supreme Court looked poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case protecting abortion rights. They didn’t, however, and the main reason was respect for precedent—specifically, the legal doctrine known as stare decisis, or “let the decision stand.”
Would it do the same today, with over 250 laws meant to test the case pending in states across the country?
An otherwise obscure case decided this week, Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, suggests that a majority of the court would not.
Hyatt was, in large part, about stare decisis.... This week, the court overruled its 1979 decision by a vote of 5-4 and tossed out Hyatt’s claim.
...What was surprising is that stare decisis warranted only 318 words in Justice Thomas’ opinion, almost like an afterthought, and that Justice Thomas summarily waved away this important judicial doctrine.
If this is how the court’s conservatives treat sovereign immunity, how will they treat abortion rights?...