The New York Times spoke with Erica J. Hashimoto, the Allen Post Professor of Law in the UGA School of Law, for an article about court decisions that are “unpublished,” or set no precedent.
Hashimoto, who also is a Meigs Professor, told the newspaper that “requiring courts to author binding precedent in every case is simply unworkable.
“Because published opinions create binding precedent for all other cases considered by that court, those opinions, unless crafted with the utmost care and precision, can have significant unintended consequences for all sorts of other cases,” Hashimoto said. “Anticipating those consequences requires an incredible investment of time.”
