this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
291 points (98.0% liked)
United States | News & Politics
7195 readers
969 users here now
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
One of the tenets of our legal system is that our laws are applied evenly so that people understand what is legal or not.
If the interpretation of a law changes with time then you could find yourself a foul of the law when previously you weren't. It's why "precedent" matters.
Absent precedent we need to understand what the law makers meant with the words they used. Especially for old laws since language changes over time.
This is an important step and how the system works. We cannot and should not skip it.