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Where our laws come from
- 1. Where Our Laws Come From Ch 19, Sec 2
- 2. Laws made by Legislature • Need or problem occurs –People decide a law is needed • EX: littering, motorcycle accident, etc.
- 3. 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.
- 4. State Statutes • Statutes also made by state legislature • Laws made by city or town councils are called ordinances
- 5. Regulations • Congress can’t make ALL decisions • Govt. has departments to handle small details –EX: Agriculture or Transportation • Agency’s rules are called: Regulations
- 6. 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
- 7. 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
- 8. 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
- 9. 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.
- 10. 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. laws Code of Hammurabi
- 11. 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
- 12. 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have the final say on all laws • Elected representatives can add, change, or remove any law – Sometimes laws become out of date as beliefs, values, and customs change
Editor's Notes
- Our laws are developed from common values and beliefs in two ways: 1. Through rules written down by legislatures 2. decisions made by judges. Both sources of law have a long history. Both have played an important role in the development of American law.
- When a certain need or problem arises, people often say that “there ought to be a law” to deal with it. If littering is a problem, your town or city council may pass a law setting a fine for littering. If motorcycle accidents are occurring and people are getting hurt; town or council pass a law requiring helmets.
- The Constitution gives Congress permission to pass laws about a limited number of topics. When Congress passes a law, that law is called a Statute. Statute passed by Congress apply to the entire U.S. All of the thousands of statutes passed by Congress are collected together and organized by Subject. The Collection is called the United States Code. For Example: The Constitution says Congress has the power to “establish post offices” and pass any laws for carrying out that power. This means that Congress can establish post offices and pass all the laws needed for running a postal service. In the part of the U.S. Code that deals with post offices, you would find a statute that establishes the U.S. Postal Service. You would also find many other statutes having to do with running the U.S. Postal ServiceThere are statutes about what can and can’t be sent though the mail, how the postal service manage its money, working for the Postal Serivce, etc.
- Each State has its own constitution that works the same way as the U.S. Constitution. State constitutions also authorize state legislature to pass state laws. The state laws are also called statutes, and they only apply inside the state. Often, state statues allow local governments to pass their own laws. EXAMPLEone state may allow lotteries; others do notSelling Alcohol on SundayGay marriageLocal laws are usually called ordinance, and they only apply within local boundaries, such as within a city or county.
- Congress has the power to pass laws, but not carry them out. There are departments within the govt. (Agriculture, Transportation, Treasure, Veterans Affairs. Congress does not have time to pass laws about every little details of how all these agencies should run. Instead, Congress gives each agency the power to create its own rules. Rules that an agency make are called Regulations. EX: Regulations say what people can and can’t do. Like Postal Service regulations that prohibit blocking the door, cost of stamps, selling stamps on the Internet
- Most laws are made by legislature. However, obeying the law also means obeying decisions made by judges. Judges do not write laws. Instead, as court cases come to them, they decide each one based on laws that already exist. Those laws may be statutes and ordinances or they may be earlier decisions made by judges. In earliest days, England had not written laws. People developed rules to live by, however, these customs came to have the force of law. In addition, as a court system developed, the courts’ decisions became the basis of a body of law. When judges were asked to decide a case, they would look for a precedent, or a ruling in an earlier case that was similar. People can point to and say, “Here is how you handled this situation before”The judge would then make a consistent ruling.
- This system of law is known as common law. It rest on court decisions rather than regulations written by lawmakers. Although England’s system of common law came about without being planned, it worked well and has remained place to this day. Our own laws about property, contracts, and personal injury are based on English common law
- In make a decisions on a case, an English Judge would always consider general community customs and beliefs about what was fair. However, a judge would also need specific guidelines to follow in deciding each case. To find those guidelines, he looked at written records of how other judges had decided similar cases. If those decisions reflected the current beliefs of the community, the judge would follow them as a precedent, or guide. Suppose, however, that community beliefs changed. Or perhaps a case came up that had no precedent. A judge would them make a new decision that reflected current beliefs and customs. This ruling set a new precedent for future cases with similar circumstances and issues.
- Conditions and customs were not always the same in the United States as in in EnglandAmerican judges needed to take this into consideration when making decisions. Therefore, some decisions of American judges began to reflect the unique aspects of life in the United States. Under English common law, for example, it was illegal for a landowner to interfere with the natural flow of a stream. But in the 1800s’, American started using water power to run factories. American judges in some states, therefore, changed the common law ruling so that landowners could interfere with the flow of a stream by building dams to power factories. In this way, common law was adapted to American society.
- Legal codes have a long historyBabylonian King HammurabiOne of the earliest codes was made almost 4,000 years ago when the Babylonian King Hammurabi (Ham mur are be) collected laws of his people. The Code of Hammurabi was carved on stone tablets. It contained almost 300 lawsSome of these ideas we share today such as family law and criminal laws.2. GreeksA Greek citizen named Draco was chose to write a code of law for the city-state of Athens. The punishment for many crimes was death. The code was severe that the Justinian Code Justinian set up a panel of ten legal expects. They combed through 400 years of Roman law and legal opinions. Some of those laws had become outdated. Some repeated or even contradicted other laws. The Panel’s task was to create a single uniform code for Justinian's New RomeJustinian Code decided legal questions that regulated whole areas of life such as: marriage, slavery, property, inheritance, women’s rights, and crimes were just some of those areas. Although Justinian himself died in 565, his code served the Byzantine empire for 900 and Influenced Europe and the United States.
- The U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the states are also collections of laws. We do not usually think of constitution as “laws” in the sense of rules or regulations, yet they include the basic rules by which our governments are run. Constitutions tell how laws may be made and what the Govt. Can and cannot do. Local, state, and federal laws must all follow the United States Constitution.
- In our country, citizens have the final say on all laws. Through elected representatives, we can add, change, or remove any law.Changes might be as major as amending Constitution or as minor as doing away with a local ordinance. As you know, sometimes laws become out of date as beliefs, values, or customs change. People may also change their ideas about what is fair or reasonable. If the majority of the people disagree with a law, the government will usually change it. EX: They changed the law that gave voting rights to women. EX: 18th amendment which was passed in 1920 to make the sale of alcohol illegal, know as prohibition However, there was enough public opposition to Prohibition that the 21st Amendment passed the repealed the 18th amendment. In short, the laws that last are those that are seen as fair, reasonable and understandable by the majority of the people.