History of Law

 Enforceable rules of conduct in society  Reflect circumstances of the times  Created in this country by elected officials  Statutes- Written laws by elected officials  Ordinances- Local Statutes

Common LawRoman Civil Law  From England  Based on people’s decisions (Common man decides your fate)  Trial by jury of your peers  Attorneys  Ability to adapt  Story to tell  From Roman Empire  Based on legally trained people’s decisions  Trial in front of justices  Usually no attorneys  Strict interpretation of the law  Punishment set based on act

 Roman Civil law is most widely practiced form of law in the world today  English Common law practiced in 49 of 50 US states (Louisiana only civil law based state) and at the federal level  Positive law is based on King, queen or dictator and is NOT widely practiced anymore

 Precedent is an idea that prior court rulings are used as a guide for future cases  Allows law to build over time  Stare Decisis is a Latin term that tells lower courts to follow established case law  Allows courts to use prior court judge decisions to follow

 Criminal- Against society  Civil (Or Tort law)- Against a person or business  Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)- Business based regulations  None of these are federal statutes, but rather they are codes (Grouped laws)

 The Federal Constitution sets the framework for what laws can and cannot be passed  The US Supreme court is always the final interpreter of the constitution  If a law conflict with the constitution, it is said to be…….  UNCONSTITUTIONAL

 Administrative Laws- Executive branch (President, governor, mayor)  Statutory Laws- Legislative Branch (Congress, senators, local boards)  Case Laws- Judicial Branch (Judges or justices)  Shamus, stop talking!

 Old English Law separated law courts and equity courts where the US has merged them into “ONE” system  There are “4” distinct stages in the growth of every legal system, with the goal being order  Police will NOT investigate a civil (Tort) matter, only criminal

 Defined as the power to decide a case  Gives local governments more power and separates power between federal levels, state levels and local levels  Case must be tried in the area it took place  Local judges given authority over case

 Against Society  Based on punishment  Jail, fines or death  Police involved  Guaranteed a lawyer  Burden of proof on the government

 Against a person or business  Based on restitution (Money)  Property or personal rights  Police NOT involved  NOT Guaranteed a lawyer  Burden of proof on the plaintiff (Person bringing the case  Also known as tort law