Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Forthcoming Work
Abstract
Some statewide intermediate appellate courts, like Kansas, do not follow horizontal stare decisis—one panel of the court can disagree, but not overrule, another. This article reviews how precedential disagreements arise in the Kansas Court of Appeals, what the costs and benefits are of not following horizontal stare decisis, and how attorneys might change their advocacy approach in a state like Kansas. The article concludes that the benefits of the Kansas practice in achieving better development of the law and justice in individual cases outweighs the harm of less predictability in precedent.
Publication Title
Kansas Law Review
Volume
73
Recommended Citation
Steve Leben,
Disagreeing with Yourself: Horizontal Stare Decisis in State Intermediate Appellate Courts,
73
Kansas Law Review
(2025).
Available at:
https://irlaw.umkc.edu/faculty_works/1012