What does 'a promise that like cases will be treated alike' suggest?
Judges are bound to follow earlier decisions, a principle known as precedent. Critics call it a dead hand: the law is held hostage by the reasoning of people long dead. Yet the alternative is worse. If every judge were free to decide each case afresh, two citizens in identical circumstances might receive opposite rulings depending on the judge they drew. Precedent is a promise that like cases will be treated alike. It is not a promise that the law will never change; higher courts can overrule old decisions, and they sometimes do. But they do so slowly and with reasons, which is precisely the pace at which stable rules should shift. A legal system that changed whenever a judge was persuaded would be admired for its flexibility and avoided for its unpredictability.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. That people in similar circumstances can expect similar outcomes
- Step 1: The phrase concerns like cases, meaning cases that are alike in relevant ways.
- Step 2: It promises consistency between those cases, not identical results for all.
Answer
That people in similar circumstances can expect similar outcomes.
Why not the others: The author expressly says the law can change; 'like cases' does not mean all cases, nor that judges always agree.
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