system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do lawyers refer back to interpretations of the law instead of the actual written law?

Why do lawyers argue that a case should be settled in their way because of XvY, instead of the plain words that the law is used?  I ask in regards to constitutional law specifically, but other law in general.
gpt
Because precedent is everything in the (American) legal system. The surest way to convince a judge that what you're doing is okay is to show that someone else did it first. Trying to push a new interpretation of the law, even if it complies with the letter of the law, is comparatively much harder.