Sources of Law Chapter 5

Introduction American legal system is based on English law  Colonists who first came to the US were governed by the English system of law  Served as a model for American jurists and legislators after the colonists declared independence in 1776

What is Law? No one answer to the question  How law is defined depends on a person’s philosophy about morality, ethics, and the truth Law consists of a body of rules of conduct with legal force and effect  Prescribed by the controlling authority (the government) of a society

What is Law? In the American legal system, these enforceable rules are found in various sources These sources include constitutions, statutes, administrative law, case law, and common law principles

Constitutional Law An important source of American law is constitutional law This is law established by the US Constitution and the constitutions of the statesUS Constitution

Statutory Law Statues consist of the laws passed by Congress and state legislatures Ordinances are statutes passed by a municipal or county governmental unit No state statute or local ordinance may violate the US Constitution or any state constitution

Administrative Law To assist the federal or state legislature in implementing the laws they enact, they often delegate implementation of laws to administrative agencies Especially true when issued relate to technical areas The rules, order, and decisions of administrative agencies are known as administrative law  Examples of federal agencies: EPA, OSHA, FDA, FTC LEGISLATURE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY Congress will pass enabling legislation that specifies the name, purpose, composition and powers of the federal agency being created. State legislatures create state administrative agencies in a similar process that Congress follows

Case Law and the Common Law Tradition *Early English courts of law are a major source of American law * This is known as common law *These king’s courts sought to established a uniform set of customs for the whole country *Courts developed the common law rules from the principles underlying the judges’ decisions in actual cases *Judges attempted to be consistent, and when possible, based their decisions on principles set forth in earlier cases

Cases that involved similar facts and issues could are decided by looking at previous case decisions  Also called stare decisis or precedent  Use of precedent is the cornerstone of the common law system  Under this doctrine, judges are obligated to follow precedents established by higher courts within a jurisdiction

Case Law and the Common Law Tradition Occasionally courts will depart from precedent if the precedent is based on a “clearly erroneous” application of the law, or if the political and cultural environment has changed so significantly that the precedent is no longer relevant

Statutory Law and Common Law Common law governs all areas not covered by statutory law, which includes all laws enacted by state legislatures and by the federal Congress Common law and statutory law are not totally separate, however, because the courts interpret statutes  The courts set common law precedents for how statutes should be interpreted and applied