Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)

Citation: Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)
Parent Document: Carl v. Children's Hospital, 702 A.2d 159 (1997)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1997-09-23
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2395626/carl-v-childrens-hospital/ ↗

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This is not to suggest that the recognition of exceptions to, or modification of, an existing judge-made rule lacks any connection with “policy.” Common sense tells us that the contrary is the case. In Williams v. Baker, we described as a “question of policy for the court” the determination whether the impact rule was to stay or go. 572 A.2d at 1072. We decided that question, however, because to do so was well within the judicial function. If, as Judge Prettyman has written, the common law is “not solidified but capable of growth and development at the hands of judges,” Linkins, supra, 87 U.S.App. D.C. at 354-55, 187 F.2d at 360-61, then that “growth” must necessarily implicate the judges’ views of the “interests of justice,” Beaulieu, supra, 265 A.2d at 613, and thus of policy.

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