Where our laws come from

Where Our Laws Come From

Ch 19, Sec 2

Laws made by Legislature

• Need or problem occurs–People decide a

law is needed• EX: littering,

motorcycle accident, etc.

Statutes are written

• Congress passes a law, is called Statutes.

• Applies to entire U.S.– Federal laws

• Organized by Subject

• Collection of Statutes called U.S. Codes.

State Statutes

• Statutes also made by state legislature

• Laws made by city or town councils are called ordinances

Regulations

• Congress can’t make ALL decisions

• Govt. has departments to handle small details– EX: Agriculture or

Transportation• Agency’s rules are

called: Regulations

Other Effects on Law

• Citizens have to obey Judge’s decisions.

• In England – There were no written

laws– People developed rules – Customs became laws– Judges decided cases

on precedent • DEF: ruling in an

early case

Common Law• England’s system became

known as “Common Law”

• Common Law worked well and remains in place today

• Many of our laws are based on English Common law

How does Common Law work?

• Judge reviewed: – Customs and beliefs– Written records of similar

cases– Decisions reflect customs,

beliefs and precedent

• If no precedent– Judge’s decision made on

current beliefs and custom– New precedent made

Why did Common Law come to the U. S.?

• Customs different in U.S. from England

• American Judges made decisions based on life in the U. S.

Long History of Codes

• Babylonian King Hammurabi– 300 laws carved on

stone• Greeks – Citizen named Draco

wrote code of law• Justinian Code– Influenced Europe

and U. S. lawsCode of Hammurabi

Constitution

• The Constitution is a collection of laws– It has rules that

must be followed by local, state, and federal govt. – Tells how laws are

made

Changing the Law

• Citizens have the final say on all laws

• Elected representatives can add, change, or remove any law

– Sometimes laws become out of date as beliefs, values, and customs change