Precedents have as much law as justice.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Precedents are only as authoritative as the justice underlying them — a precedent that embodies injustice has no more binding force than the flawed reasoning that produced it.

Where this applies

• A lawyer cites a precedent from 1850 that allowed racial discrimination, and the court notes that the precedent has only as much authority as the justice behind it — which in this case is none.
• A judge declines to follow a prior ruling that produced an unjust result, reasoning that a precedent rooted in injustice carries no real legal force.
• An appellate court overrules its own prior decision after recognizing that the old ruling was based on flawed reasoning and led to unfair outcomes.