Cite as: 532 U. S. 742 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
terpreted the middle-of-the-river language "by agreements of convenience" and not "in accordance with legal principles." Id., at 371 (White, J., joined by Blackmun and Stevens, JJ., dissenting). But the Court concluded otherwise, noting that its acceptance of the consent decree involved "[n]othing remotely resembling 'arbitral' rather than 'judicial' functions," id., at 369. The consent decree "reasonably invest[ed] imprecise terms with definitions that give effect to [the 1740] decree," ibid., and "[did] not fall into the category of agreements that we reject because acceptance would not be consistent with our Art. III function and duty," ibid.
New Hampshire also contends that the 1977 consent decree was entered without "a searching historical inquiry into what that language ['Middle of the River'] meant." Tr. of Oral Arg. 39. According to New Hampshire, had it known then what it knows now about the relevant history, it would not have entered into the decree. Ibid. We do not question that it may be appropriate to resist application of judicial estoppel "when a party's prior position was based on inadvertence or mistake." John S. Clark Co. v. Faggert & Frieden, P. C., 65 F. 3d 26, 29 (CA4 1995); see In re Corey, 892 F. 2d 829, 836 (CA9 1989); Konstantinidis, 626 F. 2d, at 939. We are unpersuaded, however, that New Hampshire's position in 1977 fairly may be regarded as a product of inadvertence or mistake.
The pleadings in the lateral marine boundary case show that New Hampshire did engage in "a searching historical inquiry" into the meaning of "Middle of the River." See Reply Brief for Plaintiff in New Hampshire v. Maine, O. T. 1975, No. 64 Orig., pp. 3-9 (examining history of river boundaries under international law, proceedings leading up to the 1740 order of the King in Council, and relevant precedents of this Court). None of the historical evidence cited by New Hampshire remotely suggested that the Piscataqua River boundary runs along the Maine shore. In fact, in attempting to place the boundary at the geographic middle of the
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