From: stephen@sprunk.org   
      
   On 10-May-14 23:01, Larry Sheldon wrote:   
   > On 5/10/2014 10:11 AM, Stephen Sprunk wrote:   
   >> On 03-May-14 18:35, Larry Sheldon wrote:   
   >>> IANAL but to my understanding this is a gross misuse of the term   
   >>> "common law".   
   >>   
   >> That's what SCOTUS called it, and they're the authority.   
   >>   
   >>> I have seen definitions that include an element of "I dunno, we   
   >>> have always done it that way".   
   >>   
   >> That's part of it, but courts often encounter situations that   
   >> they've never had to face before and the statutes (if any even   
   >> exist) are unclear; the first such court will create new case law   
   >> to handle it, and other courts are expected to follow that   
   >> precedent.  Eventually, that turns into custom.   
   >>   
   >>> com·mon law   
   >>>   
   >>> evolved law: the body of law developed as a result of custom and   
   >>> judicial decisions, as distinct from the law laid down by   
   >>> legislative assemblies.   
   >>   
   >> You're (deliberately?) missing the other part of that "and"   
   >> statement.   
   >   
   > What ever it is I am being accused of, I deny it.   
      
   Ah, so it was deliberate then.  Thanks for clearing that up.   
      
   > Some where I learned that "The Body of The Law" in the USA (I think   
   > that is my tern--but I am not sure and I am still not a lawyer and   
   > would deny it if I was) consists of part or components with names   
   > like:   
   >   
   > English law   
   > statutory law (comes in flavors like Federal, State, County or Parish,   
   > City, and such)   
   > Case law ("judicial decisions" in your definition)   
   > Common law (I guess "custom" in your definition)   
      
   No, the four types of law are:   
      
   constitutional law   
   statute law   
   regulatory law   
   common law   
      
   Your "English law" above refers to English common law, which also became   
   the Colonies' common law and, after independence, was "received" by the   
   states (and US govt) and then began to diverge.  We did not receive any   
   English statute law.  I'm not aware that England had any regulatory law   
   back then--or even now; that might be a US invention.   
      
   Your "case law" is common law.   
      
   Constitutional law is a bizarre mix of both statute and common law; we   
   received only the latter from England (see above), but the former is far   
   more important in our system than in England's, so it rarely comes up.   
      
   S   
      
   --   
   Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein   
   CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the   
   K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking   
      
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