Epstein on Black & Spriggs' Supreme Court Precedent Depreciation

Over at PrawfsBlawg, Harold Wasserman (FL) notes that the latest JOTWELL Courts Law essay, by Lee Epstein (Wash U--Poli Sci), reviews Black & Spriggs' The Citation and Depreciation of U.S. Supreme Court Precedent (10 JELS 325 (2013)). The Black & Spriggs paper "examines how the use of precedent changes and depreciates over time." As Epstein notes, and Black & Spriggs find, "Supreme Court precedents don’t have an especially long shelf life: they depreciate by about 80% between years one and twenty. Interestingly, though, much of the depreciation occurs within the first couple of years." Given these findings, Epstein suggests that "because of its 'here today, gone tomorrow' quality, law professors and lawyers might (re)consider carefully the cases they emphasize in class and in the courtroom."