“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”
- Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The Leopard
One of the most frequently cited civil opinions in California is Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court (1962) 57 Cal.2d 450, a state Supreme Court case instructing lower courts to follow previous decisions and respect precedence. This deferential principle can be controversial at times and its inflexibility has occasionally led to harsh results. Nevertheless, “the rule,” has had positive consequences as well. Deference to earlier cases fosters predictability in the law and diminishes the risk of judicial partiality or caprice. Intriguingly, while the principle was intended to moderate judicial opinions, it has fueled legal innovation and change.
As a general matter, judges reference, or “cite,” earlier legal opinions to explain the law and the reasoning behind their opinions. They do not do this gratuitously—under the California Constitution, decisions of the courts of appeal and Supreme Court must provide “reasons stated.” (i) Consequently, opinions are peppered with citations to statutes and previous case opinions. Naturally, some cases are mentioned more often than others.
Computer software and advanced search tools have made it easier than ever to analyze not only individual court opinions, but the whole universe of reported cases. One pattern of interest for lawyers and academics is how often a particular case opinion has been cited by later opinions. (ii) Frequent citation suggests a case may state a new law or articulate a legal concept better than other opinions. Admittedly, some opinions may obtain their fame by simply “catching on”—the more frequently a case is cited, as a general rule, the more likely it will be cited in the future.
Case statistics reveal that California courts have cited the case Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court more often than virtually any other civil opinion. Fittingly, Auto Equity Sales is a court opinion about relying on court opinions.
To understand Auto Equity Sales, one must understand a fundamental principle of California’s legal system, the doctrine of stare decisis (“to stand by the decision”). At early common law, judges often ignored other rulings—if they were even known to begin with. Latin maxims were the authorities of the day. It was not until the development of reliable reporter systems and the evolution of court hierarchies that the doctrine of stare decisis began to take hold. Simply put, stare decisis is a rule that judges are obliged to follow previous decisions issued by higher courts. (iii)
Cases most often cite Auto Equity Sales for its statement that: “Under the doctrine...
