Lighting The Way For The Courts: Stare Decisis

Courts are bound by the laws legislatures pass, and courts are, of course, obligated to apply those laws. Courts are also obligated to follow another source of law: binding precedent from higher courts. This principle is called stare decisis, a Latin phrase meaning “to stand by things decided.” Stare decisis is one of the foundations on which the stability, predictability, consistency, and integrity of our federal courts rest. As such, it is a crucial component of the rule of law.

Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions

In November 2026, the 1L class at the University of Dayton School of Law in Dayton, Ohio hosted the first Ohio law school session of Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions (known as “CD3”), a civics and civility program, with U.S. District Judge Michael Newman, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Silvain, Jr. and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Tyson Crist, all of whom sit in Dayton. CD3 was created by two federal judges in the Southern District of Florida: Judge Robin Rosenberg (now the Director of the Federal Judicial Center) and Judge Beth Bloom.

Teachers Justice Academy

MIED’s Civics Initiative hosted its inaugural Student Justice Workshop on October 20, 2026, followed by our Teachers’ Justice Academy on October 29, 2026.

The Student Justice Workshop program was spearheaded by U.S. District Judge Brandy McMillion and the Civics Initiative’s Student Justice Workshop subcommittee. We welcomed 37 student participants from Troy High School and Troy Athens High School. The students asked some of the most thoughtful, empathetic, and inquisitive questions, which impressed many of the adults in the room and gave us even more confidence that the future of the legal profession is in great hands.

The Ultimate Source Of Law Is The Constitution, Not Current Majority Public Opinion

As discussed in our last article, there is an inherent tension between two of our key democratic principles, the will of the people and the rule of law. Comments to recent news articles in national publications call attention to this tension. One comment read: “We the People seem to have no power at all over the law.” Another read: “The current makeup of the court simply does not reflect majority public opinion on most issues. It is completely out of balance.” And a third: “This is what happens when ordinary people lose faith in Justice under the Law. Eventually, frustrated or misinformed, they take matters into their own untrained yet still angry hands.”