Under what circumstances can the US Supreme Court depart from its previous decisions?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court has authority to overturn any precedent, provided:

1. A case raises issues invoking the precedent to be overturned.
2. The US Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear or review the case.
3. The US Supreme Court receives a petition and grants cert.
4. The majority votes for a decision that changes one or more existing precedents.

According to a 2005 report for Congress created by the Congressional Research Service, "The Supreme Court's Overruling of Constitutional Precedent: An Overview," the Supreme Court doesn't adhere to any particular set of rules regarding stare decisis, and has been inconsistent in its timing and reasoning for setting aside precedent. Much of this is due to changes in society and in the composition of the Court.

The report states: "As a general rule, the Supreme Court adheres to precedent, citing the doctrine of stare decisis ("to stand by a decision"). The general rule of stare decisis is not an absolute rule, however, and the Court recognizes the need on occasion to correct what are perceived as erroneous decisions or to adapt decisions to changed circumstances. In deciding whether to overrule precedent the Court takes a variety of approaches and applies a number of different standards, many of them quite general and flexible in application. As a result, the law of stare decisis in constitutional decision making can be considered amorphous and manipulable, and it is difficult to predict when the Court will rely on stare decisis and when it will depart from it."

The Supreme Court is more likely to uphold stare decisis than to overturn a binding precedent, and sometimes allows an established precedent to stand by distinguishing a new, narrow ruling from an older, more generalized ruling by splitting off exceptions to the precedent. This has the effect of weakening the original precedent, rather than completely abolishing it.

Addressing the reason for overruling earlier Court decisions, Justice Brandeis wrote, in his dissenting opinion of Burnet v. Coronado Oil and Gas Co., 285 US 393 (1932):

"[I]n cases involving the Federal Constitution, where correction through legislative action is practically impossible, this Court has often overruled its earlier decisions. The Court bows to the lessons of experience and the force of better reasoning, recognizing that the process of trial and error, so fruitful in the physical sciences, is appropriate also in the judicial function."

As of 2005, the US Supreme Court had reversed only 228 of its 30,000+ decisions.