"Disagreeing with Yourself: Horizontal Stare Decisis in State Intermedi" by Steve Leben
 

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

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