May 15, 2013 21:10
by J. Wylie Donald
Res judicata is one of those phrases learned in law school that seemed of limited utility. How often is someone going to bring the same claim twice? Callow law students know little of the world. The doctrine is frequently needed and, as was learned in law school, it can be used to dispose of a claim, even if the prior decision "may have been wrong or rested on a legal principle subsequently overruled in another case." Federated Dep't Stores, Inc. v. Moitie, 452 U.S. 394, 398 (1981).
On Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit applied the hoary doctrine to snuff out (ag...