20
Opinion of the Court
C
Despite what Chief Judge Posner aptly described as Albrecht's "infirmities, [and] its increasingly wobbly, moth-eaten foundations," 93 F. 3d, at 1363, there remains the question whether Albrecht deserves continuing respect under the doctrine of stare decisis. The Court of Appeals was correct in applying that principle despite disagreement with Albrecht, for it is this Court's prerogative alone to overrule one of its precedents.
We approach the reconsideration of decisions of this Court with the utmost caution. Stare decisis reflects "a policy judgment that 'in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than that it be settled right.' " Agostini v. Felton, 521 U. S. 203, 235 (1997) (quoting Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U. S. 393, 406 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)). It "is the preferred course because it promotes the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles, fosters reliance on judicial decisions, and contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process." Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U. S. 808, 827 (1991). This Court has expressed its reluctance to overrule decisions involving statutory interpretation, see, e. g., Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U. S. 720, 736 (1977), and has acknowledged that stare decisis concerns are at their acme in cases involving property and contract rights, see, e. g., Payne, 501 U. S., at 828. Both of those concerns are arguably relevant in this case.
But "[s]tare decisis is not an inexorable command." Ibid. In the area of antitrust law, there is a competing interest, well represented in this Court's decisions, in recognizing and adapting to changed circumstances and the lessons of accumulated experience. Thus, the general presumption that legislative changes should be left to Congress has less force with respect to the Sherman Act in light of the accepted view that Congress "expected the courts to give shape to the statute's broad mandate by drawing on common-law tra-
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