National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Comm’n · ¶84

When conducting the stare decisis inquiry, the Court has sometimes broadly phrased the issue as whether a “special justification” for overruling exists. See Ramos, 590 U. S., at 120, n. 3 (KAVANAUGH, J., concurring in part). The Court decides whether to overrule a constitutional precedent by considering the egregiousness of the precedent’s error, the jurisprudential and real-world effects of the decision, and any cognizable reliance interests. Id., at 105–106 (opinion of the Court); id., at 120–123 (opinion of KAVANAUGH, J.). A prior decision may have been “egregiously wrong when decided” or “may be unmasked as egregiously wrong based on later legal or factual understandings or developments.” Id., at 122.

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