Justice Elena Kagan Faces Precedent Test in Kian v. Florida

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has established a judicial record centered on stare decisis, the principle that courts should avoid overturning prior rulings to ensure legal stability. Kagan argues that this approach prevents the judiciary from appearing as a political institution. Her adherence to precedent has led her to frequently dissent against recent court decisions that overruled landmark rulings, such as those in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

While Kagan has occasionally voted to overrule prior decisions in cases like Obergefell v. Hodges and Johnson v. United States, she generally supports opinions that align with the goals of stare decisis. This commitment to judicial restraint will be tested in the upcoming case Kian v. Florida. In this matter, the petitioner is seeking to overrule a 1970 decision concerning the use of six-person juries in Florida.