187. Matthew Wurstner on Precedent and the Supreme Court

Today's episode features a conversation between Tom Knoblauch and
Matthew Wurstner, an attorney from Omaha, Nebraska.


If you've ever watched Supreme Court proceedings, a word that
you've heard a lot is "precedent." How much does precedent
matter? How much should we revere the standards of the past, and
how much should we look to rewrite the rules of the future?


These questions don't have firm answers, but people have strong
opinions about them — particularly in an age of gridlocked
Congress and a historically empowered Supreme Court.


Matthew Wurstner is back on the show to discuss the concept of
precedent. What is it? Where does it come from? What are the
arguments for and against it?


Wurstner is a partner at the law firm Carlson Blakeman in Omaha.