Opinion of the Court
those arguments to the people and their elected representatives.
III
We next consider whether the doctrine of stare decisis counsels continued acceptance of Roe and Casey. Stare decisis plays an important role in our case law, and we have explained that it serves many valuable ends. It protects the interests of those who have taken action in reliance on a past decision. See Casey, 505 U. S., at 856 (plurality opinion); see also Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U. S. 808, 828 (1991). It "reduces incentives for challenging settled precedents, saving parties and courts the expense of endless relitigation." Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 576 U. S. 446, 455 (2015). It fosters "evenhanded" decision making by requiring that like cases be decided in a like manner. Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U. S. 808, 827 (1991). It "contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process." Ibid. And it restrains judicial hubris and reminds us to respect the judgment of those who grappled with important questions in the past. "Precedent is a way of accumulating and passing down the learning of past generations, a font of established wisdom richer than what can be found in any single judge or panel of judges." N. Gorsuch, A Republic If You Can Keep It 217 (2019).
We have long recognized, however, that stare decisis is "not an inexorable command," Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 233 (2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), and it "is at its weakest when we interpret the Constitution," Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203, 235 (1997). It has been said that it is sometimes more important that an issue "be settled than that it be settled right." Kimble, 576 U. S., at 455 (emphasis added) (quoting Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U.S. 393, 406 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)). But when it comes to the interpretation of the Constitution—the "great charter of our liberties," which
