Week 1 Assignment

1. What is common law?

Common law is the body of law that was developed from judicial and custom decisions in English and United States courts and is not attributable to a legislature. At first, common law was founded on common sense in regards to the social customs. Over time, it became supplanted by statute law, which is the rules that a legislative body approved, and also judgments from the higher courts. The precedents are then recognized, affirmed, and also enforced by the courts decisions. This in turn causes common law to become more expanded over time. When you contrast common law to civil law, common law is based on broader principles. In addition, civil law is based on a rigid code of rule. In addition, in civil law, the defendant is considered guilty until proven innocent once entering criminal trial. Common law is the opposite since the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
2. What are the sources of American law?
There are several sources of American law. The sources include common law, statutory law, administrative law, court rules, and constitutional law. The primary sources of American law include the U.S. constitutions and constitutions of the states, statutes and laws passed by Congress and state legislators, regulations that were created by administrative agencies, and case law or court decisions. Secondary sources of law would include things such as legal encyclopedias, legal treatise, or articles in law review. Statutory law is a body of law, which was enacted, by legislative bodies. Administrative law is created by administrative agencies in an effort to be able to complete their responsibilities and tasks.
3. What is the importance of precedent to the judicial decision-making process?
When you consider the doctrine of stare decisis, once a court has put in place a principle of law that is applicable to a