Putting Precedent in Its Place, Part 2 | America's Unwritten Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar

The Constitution, not the Supreme Court, is the supreme law of the land. Akhil Reed Amar works out what that means for when precedent should stand and when it should fall. This lecture returns to remedies, arguing that the exclusionary rule lacks a proper fit because Fourth Amendment wrongs were meant to be answered by tort suits, not by freeing the guilty. Amar then sets out a limited role for precedent: binding on lower courts, a starting point and persuasive authority for the Supreme Court, and controlling where reliance interests or popular acceptance have taken hold, as with paper money and Miranda. He reads Casey and Dickerson to fit this account. Chapters: 00:00 The exclusionary rule and remedies 04:04 The Fourth Amendment's real remedy: tort suits 06:19 The twins and remedial fit 08:42 What the Constitution says about precedent 10:41 Vertical precedent and persuasive authority 14:45 Reliance interests and new rights 20:08 Casey and stare decisis 📚 Learning objectives: After watching, you'll be able to: - Explain why the exclusionary rule lacks a proper remedial fit - Describe how tort suits served as the founding-era Fourth Amendment remedy - Assess when the Supreme Court may depart from its own precedent - Analyze the roles of reliance interests and popular acceptance in the weight of precedent 📺 Watch the full playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLABHWcbOLwlY 🎓 Enroll on Coursera for assessments and a certificate: https://www.coursera.org/learn/unwritten-constitution 🌐 Explore more learning opportunities on Yale Online: https://online.yale.edu/courses/americas-unwritten-constitution