ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who chaired the committee hearings on Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, said yesterday that he intends to investigate whether the Court's newest Justices "lived up" to their promises during those hearings to respect stare decisis. 

The Chief Justice told Senators during his hearings that "I do think that it is a jolt to the legal system when you overrule a precedent. Precedent plays an important role in promoting stability and evenhandedness."  His remarks were echoed by Justice Alito, who said that "there needs to be a special justification for overruling a prior precedent."

Senator Specter said that he was moved to examine the new Justices' records after a recent conversation he had with Justice Breyer.  In that conversation, Breyer told Specter that there were eight closely divided cases last Term in which the new Justices voted to overturn or substantially limit existing precedent.