Polyphonic Stare Decisis: Listening to Non-Article III Actors

Abstract:     
This article explores the input that non-Article III actors can and should have in the Supreme Court's decision to reconsider a prior constitutional decision. It employs a model of constitutional decision-making that distinguishes between the articulation of constitutional meaning and the construction of constitutional doctrine to identify several different stages at which a court can adhere to or depart from precedent and examines the persuasive power of non-Article III input at each stage.

Keywords: Constitution of the United States of America, Article III, Article 3, stare decisis, constitutional decision-making

Accepted Paper Series