where our laws come from
DESCRIPTION
Ch 19-2TRANSCRIPT
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– Sometimes laws become out of date as beliefs, values, and customs change