ABSTRACT
According to tradition long upheld in Anglo- American courtrooms, judges follow the principle of stare decisis (pronounced STAR-ry de-SI-sis), which is the rule that justices are expected to follow prior decisions, or precedents. This helps ensure that case law is consistent, fair, and predictable, so that citizens know how a law is likely to be interpreted in the future and can make decisions based on this knowledge. For example, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), that women had the right of abortion choice in the first six months of pregnancy, citizens could expect that subsequent Court decisions would follow this precedent and that legal abortion would be available.
