The principal purpose of stare decisis is to protect reliance interest and further stability in the law.
Antonin ScaliaI am glad that I am not raising kids today. And Iโm rather pessimistic that my grandchildren will enjoy the great society that Iโve enjoyed in my lifetime. I really think itโs coarsened. Itโs coarsened in so many ways. One of the things that upsets me about modern society is the coarseness of manners. You canโt go to a movie โ or watch a television show for that matter โ without hearing the constant use of the F-word โ including, you know, ladies using it. People that I know donโt talk like that!
Antonin ScaliaYou can't come in smugly and with great self satisfaction and say 'Oh it's torture, and therefore it's no good.' Is it really so easy to determine that smacking someone in the face to determine where he has hidden the bomb that is about to blow up Los Angeles is prohibited in the constitution? It would be absurd to say you couldn't do that. And once you acknowledge that, we're into a different game.
Antonin Scalia