[20211230]LSB10678_宪法分析的模式：司法判例（第四部分）.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Modes of Constitutional Analysis: Judicial Precedent (Part 4) December 30, 2021 This Legal Sidebar Post is the fourth in a nine-part series that discusses certain “methods” or “modes” of analysis that the Supreme Court has employed to determine the meaning of a provision within the Constitution. (For additional background on this topic and citations to relevant sources, please see CRS Report R45129, Modes of Constitutional Interpretation) The Supreme Courts prior decisions on questions of constitutional law are the most commonly cited source of the Constitutions meaning. For most Justices, if not all, judicial precedent provides possible principles, rules, or standards to govern judicial decisions in future cases with arguably similar facts. Although the Court routinely purports to rely upon precedent, it is unclear how often precedent has actually constrained the Courts decisions because the Justices have latitude in how broadly or narrowly they choose to construe their prior decisions. In some cases, however, a single precedent may play a particularly prominent role in the Courts d