Adam Liptak has another fascinating article on the judicial system, this time concerning the declining number of times foreign courts have cited U.S. case law in their decisions. It's a clever reversal of the well-worn debate about whether U.S. judges should be able to cite foreign case law here.
The declining rates are taken as indication that the U.S. is no longer the preeminent source for legal opinion in the world, especially because our right-ward leaning Supreme Court is out-of-step with Europe and other developed nations on issues like human -- including GLBTQ -- rights. It's also likely that many of the countries who once relied on our case law have developed more robust precedents at home. But many younger lawyers feel more comfortable citing foreign cases, especially as international law becomes an increasingly popular area of study at law schools. And as our courts reach out to foreign experience, it's likely we'll see foreign courts looking back to us.
--Tim Fernholz
