Sources of LawChapter 1 – Business and Personal Law

Judicial DecisionsIn the American legal system, judicial (court)

decisions are primary sources of law, in addition to the Constitution, statutes, and regulations.

Structure of Courts covered in Chapter 2For our learning in Chapter 1, we look at

court decisions being somewhere our laws come from.

How the system worksU. S. has parallel court systems: federal and

stateBoth systems are divided into trial courts and

appellate courts.  Trial courts determine the relevant facts of a

dispute and apply law to these facts, Appellate courts review trial court decisions

to ensure the law was applied correctly.

Court OpinionsCourt opinions create legal precedents that

guide judges in deciding similar future casesDecisions of the highest court in a court

system (ex. U.S. Supreme Court in the federal system) create "mandatory" precedent that must be followed by lower courts in that jurisdiction.

Similarly, intermediate appellate courts (such as the federal circuit courts of appeal) create mandatory precedent for the courts below them.

In Review – Laws Come fromConstitutionCommon Law PrinciplesCourt DecisionsStatutesAdministrative Agencies

IRS – Internal Revenue ServiceFDA – Food and Drug AdministrationOSHA – Occupational Safety & Health Admin