Section 11-735

Citation: Section 11-735
Parent Document: Mendes v. Johnson, 389 A.2d 781 (1978)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1978-06-13
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2073911/mendes-v-johnson/ ↗

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Beyond setting forth the broad guiding principles of Linkletter, the Supreme Court has continued to leave to other courts resolution of the question of the specific application of a new rule of law in a particular case. An examination of the relevant case law reveals that the courts have developed three general formulae for application of an overruling decision: total retroactive as well as prospective application,[19] partial retroactive application (i. e., retroactive application of the new rule to the parties to the case in addition to prospective application),[20] and purely prospective application.[21]See generally Annot., 10 A.L.R.3d 1371. Several specific criteria have emerged as central in the courts' determination of which of these techniques of overruling to utilize. These include (1) the extent of the reliance of the parties on the old rule (including the degree of justifiable reliance and the hardship which might result to the litigants as a result of retrospective application); (2) avoidance of altering vested contract or property rights; (3) the desire to reward plaintiffs who seek to initiate just changes in the law; and (4) the fear of burdening the administration of justice by disturbing decisions reached under the overruled precedent.[22] Each of these factors will be discussed briefly below.

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