Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/85

§. 3. here a very natural, and very material, quetion aries: how are thee cutoms or maxims to be known, and by whom is their validity to be determined? The anwer is, by the judges in the everal courts of jutice. They are the depoitary of the laws; the living oracles, who mut decide in all caes of doubt, and who are bound by an oath to decide according to the law of the land. Their knowlege of that law is derived from experience and tudy; from the “,” which Fortecue mentions; and from being long peronally accutomed to the judicial deciions of their predeceors. And indeed thee judicial deciions are the principal and mot authoritative evidence, that can be given, of the exitence of uch a cutom as hall form a part of the common law. The judgment itelf, and all the proceedings previous thereto, are carefully regitered and preerved, under the name of records, in public repoitories et apart for that particular purpoe; and to them frequent recoure is had, when any critical quetion aries, in the determination of which former precedents may give light or aitance. And therefore, even o early as the conquet, we find the “” reckoned up as one of the chief qualifications of thoe who were held to be “ .” For it is an etablihed rule to abide by former precedents, where the ame points come again in litigation; as well to keep the cale of jutice even and teady, and not liable to waver with every new judge’s opinion; as alo becaue the law in that cae being olemnly declared and determined, what before was uncertain, and perhaps indifferent, is now become a permanent rule, which it is not in the breat of any ubequent judge to alter or vary from, according to his private entiments: he being worn to determine, not according to his own private judgment, but according to the known laws and cutoms of the land; not delegated to pronounce a new law, but to maintain and expound the old one. Yet this rule admits of exception, where the former determination is mot evidently contrary to reaon; much