New article in The Conversation
Legal precedent based on false beliefs proves hard to overturn
Judges consider their profession to be among the most accountable of those whose opinions and actions shape our society – but what happens when they make a mistake in their judgments? After all – judges are only human: mistakes must happen, however rarely.
Turns out it can be quite hard to correct an error after it has come to be used as a precedent in many subsequent trials, and become the basis of widespread practice in law and law enforcement.
Check out my new article in The Conversation, part of an ongoing series from the Post-Truth Initiative, a Strategic Research Excellence Initiative at the University of Sydney.