"Even when it comes to allegations as disgusting and abhorrent as rape and sexual misconduct, we need finality in our judicial system," he said.
Democrats would likely say that enough is enough, that this has gone on too long and what the country wants and needs is finality and closure.
However, the need for accuracy must be weighed against the need for finality.
"The need for accuracy must be weighed against the need for finality," the majority insisted, a bare vote ahead of the minority's riposte: "Finality must take precedence over continued judicial process".
EXCEPT in capital cases and in cases in which prisoners can produce persuasive evidence of their innocence, the need for finality must trump our pursuit of perfection.
Of course, retroactivity in civil cases must be limited by the need for finality, see Chicot County Drainage District v. Baxter State Bank, 308 U.S. 371, 60 S.Ct.
"Society has a real and legitimate need for finality in answering the question of whether someone is guilty of a crime," said Jamie Orenstein, a former Justice Department official.
Of course, retroactivity is limited by the need for finality, since equality for those whose claims have been adjudicated could only be purchased at the expense of the principle that there be an end of litigation.
But there is a third answer to Breyer's question about the difference the court could make: it is to satisfy public opinion's growing desire for closure and the nation's need for finality.
