This is Part II of the appreciation of United States District Judge Alsup of the Northern District of California to mark the occasion of his taking senior status. Part I is available here.

Judicial innovations

Case law is not normally described as “innovative.” To the contrary, case law’s development is inherently cautious, with precedent supplying the rules and principles for later decisions. Indeed, stare decisis accepts that precedent can be wrong—but the law will apply it anyway.