Jacobson, Lochner, the Folly of Stare Decisis & Failure of Modern Constitutional Law
constitutionallaw.substack.com
Stare Decisis is an old Latin phrase meaning: "Let wrong decisions of the Court stand"… The term is more commonly spoken of today as the Common-law doctrine of precedent. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Jacobson v. Massachusetts became the fountainhead for pandemic jurisprudence. Courts relied on this 1905 precedent to resolve disputes about religious freedom, abortion, gun rights, voting rights, the right to travel, and many other contexts. But Justice John Marshall Harlan’s decision was very narrow. It upheld the state’s power to impose a nominal fine on an unvaccinated person. No more, no less. Yet, judges now follow a variant of Jacobson that is far removed from the Lochner-era decision. And the Supreme Court is largely to blame for these errors.
Jacobson, Lochner, the Folly of Stare Decisis & Failure of Modern Constitutional Law
Jacobson, Lochner, the Folly of Stare Decisis…
Jacobson, Lochner, the Folly of Stare Decisis & Failure of Modern Constitutional Law
Stare Decisis is an old Latin phrase meaning: "Let wrong decisions of the Court stand"… The term is more commonly spoken of today as the Common-law doctrine of precedent. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Jacobson v. Massachusetts became the fountainhead for pandemic jurisprudence. Courts relied on this 1905 precedent to resolve disputes about religious freedom, abortion, gun rights, voting rights, the right to travel, and many other contexts. But Justice John Marshall Harlan’s decision was very narrow. It upheld the state’s power to impose a nominal fine on an unvaccinated person. No more, no less. Yet, judges now follow a variant of Jacobson that is far removed from the Lochner-era decision. And the Supreme Court is largely to blame for these errors.