stare decisis

From the Latin stāre (“to stand; to stay, to remain”) + dēcīsīs (ablative plural of dēcīsus, from dēcīdō (“I sever, I decide”); literally "to stand by decided matters".

• (General American) enPR: stârʹē dĭ.sīʹsĭs, IPA^(key): /ˈstɛəɹi dɪˈsaɪsɪs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛəɹi dɪˈsaɪsɪs/

stare decisis (uncountable)

1. (law) The principle of following judicial precedent.
   • 2006, Saul Brenner, Harold J. Spaeth, Stare Indecisis: The Alteration of Precedent on the Supreme Court, 1946-1992, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 3:

     Similarly, Walter F. Murphy, a student of judicial politics, noted that stare decisis provides the “harried judges who face difficult choices with a welcome decision-making crutch.”

• precedent on Wikipedia.Wikipedia