Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their unchanged purpose is to show respect for opponents and the game. In baseball, as in the remainder of life, the most important rules are unwritten. But not unenforced.

Defining marriage is a power that should be left to the states. Moreover, no state should be forced to recognize a marriage that is not within its own laws, Constitution, and legal precedents.

To the extent that the judicial profession becomes the daily routine of deciding cases on the most secure precedents and the narrowest grounds available, the judicial mind atrophies and its perspective shrinks.

Defining marriage is a power that should be left to the states. Moreover no state should be forced to recognize a marriage that is not within its own laws Constitution and legal precedents.

I don't seem to be able to learn from experience or anything useful. History doesn't help me. Precedents don't inform my experience.

We live in an era with no historical precedents. History is no longer useful as a tool in helping us understand current changes.

To the extent that the judicial profession becomes the daily routine of deciding cases on the most secure precedents and the narrowest grounds available the judicial mind atrophies and its perspective shrinks.