U.S. Supreme Court,
Constitutional Law
Jun. 13, 2017
Rulings create causation confusion
In several cases this term, the U.S. Supreme Court has reversed the lower court for using the wrong standard of causation -- but without elaborating on the proper standard.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
Few concepts in the law are more basic than causation. It is therefore not surprising that a number of U.S. Supreme Court cases this term have turned on whether there was an adequate finding of causation. What has been surprising is that in each the court reversed the lower court for using the wrong standard of causation, but without elaborating on the proper standard. The court has not only failed in its responsibility to clarify the law, but likely has generated even more confusion for t...
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