The Constitution, not its own precedents, is the Supreme Court’s supreme authority.
Evidence
The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality, however, is the Constitution itself, not the precedents of the Supreme Court. Thus, judges may, as they did in Brown, depart from precedent when they conclude that prior cases were wrongly decided. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1401
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Judicial review is the power of courts to strike down unconstitutional government actions. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1383; Constitutional limits on supreme legislation operate through legal disabilities rather than duties — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 261; Legal validity derives from normative authority, not from physical power alone. — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 48 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Constitutional limits on supreme legislation operate through legal disabilities rather than duties
#expands(0.85) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 261 - Motivation for a ruling must be distinguished from constitutional causality
#expands(0.78) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 807 - Legal validity derives from normative authority, not from physical power alone.
#corroborates(0.75) — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 48