Query: Define Stare Decisis and describe how it is used by the courts
Context: Stare Decisis means "to abide by decided cases." This is the court's establishment of a certain rule of law based on a particular set of facts that becomes the precedent that all the lower courts in that jurisdiction must follow. The purpose of Stare Decisis is to 1) establish a continuity of decisions, 2) expediting judicial decision making