Kara Sears
American Jurisprudence is an extensive collection of works covering all aspects of American law, including civil and criminal law, at both state and federal levels. It is an important resource for lawyers and law students, providing a summary of the broad principles of American law. The American legal system is a common law system, which means that it relies heavily on court precedent in formal adjudications. This means that case law, or judge-made law, is critical to the court's resolution of a matter. This is in contrast to civil law systems, which rely more on codes that explicitly provide rules for specific disputes.
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What You'll Learn
Common law and civil law systems
The terms "common law" and "civil law" refer to legal systems. Common law is a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents established by the courts. Common law originated in medieval England and is used in many countries that were formerly under English rule, including the United States. In a common law system, judicial decisions are binding precedent, and there is extensive freedom of contract. Common law allows for some freedom of interpretation and can adapt to situations not contemplated by the legislature.
Civil law, on the other hand, is based on legal codes that function as the primary source of law. It is rooted in the Roman Empire and was comprehensively codified and disseminated in the 19th century, with France's Napoleonic Code and Germany's Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch as notable examples. Civil law systems are generally more prescriptive than common law systems, with many provisions implied into a contract by law. Civil law codes are regularly updated to create order and reduce biased systems, and they clearly define the cases that can be brought to court, the procedures for handling claims, and the punishment for an offense.
The United States operates under a dual system of both common and civil law. Forty-nine states and the federal government use common law, while Louisiana uses civil law due to its historical settlement by the French. Louisiana's private law was codified into the Louisiana Civil Code, and while it has converged considerably with American law, any innovations have been decidedly common law in origin.
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Court precedent
The American legal system is a "common law" system, which means it relies heavily on court precedent in formal adjudications. Even when a statute is at issue, judicial determinations in earlier court cases are critical to the court's resolution of the matter at hand. This is in contrast to civil law systems, which rely more on codes that explicitly provide rules of decision for specific disputes.
The concept of court precedent is closely tied to the idea of jurisdiction. In the American legal system, jurisdiction refers to both the formal power of a court to exercise authority over a particular matter and the geographic distribution of courts at different levels. The jurisdiction in which a case arose will determine which courts' decisions will be considered binding precedents.
The importance of court precedent in the American legal system can be seen in the process of subsequent case history and treatment. When a higher-level court takes action on a lower-level court decision, its opinion and holding will constitute the precedent in that case, effectively replacing the lower court's opinion. The subsequent case treatment involves examining how other cases have interpreted and applied the initial case, including whether it has been followed, reversed, distinguished, or applied in a specific way. This indicates how the same or other courts interpret and use the initial case as a precedent.
Additionally, the school of legal thought known as formalism or conceptualism treats law in a similar manner to mathematics or science. Formalists believe that judges identify relevant legal principles, apply them to the facts of a case, and deduce a rule to govern the outcome. In contrast, legal realists believe that judges resolve disputes by balancing the interests of the parties and drawing a line based on their political, economic, and psychological inclinations.
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Judicial determinations
The American legal system is a "common law" system, which means it relies heavily on court precedent in formal adjudications. In this system, judicial determinations in earlier court cases are critical to the court's resolution of a matter, even when a statute is at issue. This "common law" may also be referred to as "judge-made" law, or case law. Case law involves legal determinations based on a set of particular facts involving parties with a genuine interest in the controversy.
Pure decisional case law involves a court deciding cases based on prior court decisions (precedent), policy, and a sense of inherent fairness. Subsequent case history is defined by what a higher-level court has done with respect to a lower-level court decision on appeal. The opinion and holding of the higher-level court will constitute the precedent in the case, effectively abrogating the lower-level court opinion.
The term "jurisdiction" is important in American law and has two meanings. Firstly, it refers to the formal power of a court to exercise judicial authority over a particular matter. Secondly, it refers to the geographic distribution of courts of particular levels within the federal court system. The jurisdiction in which a case arose will determine which courts' decisions will be binding precedents.
There are different schools of thought on jurisprudence, including formalism and legal realism. Formalists treat the law like maths or science, believing that a judge identifies relevant legal principles, applies them to the facts of a case, and logically deduces a rule to govern the outcome. Legal realists, on the other hand, believe that judges must resolve hard questions by balancing the interests of the parties and drawing an arbitrary line, according to their own political, economic, and psychological inclinations.
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Federal court system
The federal court system in the United States is made up of three main levels: district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. The district courts are the trial courts, with 94 district courts across the country, each with at least one district judge appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. These courts handle both civil and criminal cases that arise under federal statutes, the Constitution, or treaties, and this type of jurisdiction is called "original jurisdiction".
The circuit courts are the first level of appeal, and there are 13 of these courts. Beyond the Federal Circuit, there are also courts that deal with appeals on specific subjects, such as veterans' claims and military matters. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the American judicial system and the final level of appeal. It has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court and those brought in state court but dealing with federal law. For example, a case involving freedom of speech could be decided by a state supreme court and then appealed to the federal Supreme Court.
The federal court system is based on a system of jurisdictions, which refers to the geographic distribution of courts of particular levels. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, meaning they can only hear cases authorized by the United States Constitution or federal statutes. Sometimes, the jurisdiction of state courts overlaps with federal courts, and cases may be brought in either court system. The plaintiff can initially choose to bring the case in state or federal court, and if the plaintiff chooses state court, the defendant may sometimes choose to "remove" the case to federal court. This can happen under the court's ""diversity jurisdiction", which allows a plaintiff from one state to file a lawsuit in federal court when the defendant is from a different state, and the "amount in controversy" is more than $75,000.
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Legal positivism
Inclusive legal positivism, also called "soft positivism", acknowledges the possibility that the criteria for identifying valid laws in a given legal system may incorporate moral standards. This interpretation of legal positivism accepts that the validity of some laws may be contingent upon their moral merit. For instance, a constitution may include clauses requiring laws to respect human rights, thereby incorporating moral standards into the legal system. Inclusive positivists accept that moral, political, or economic considerations are properly operative in legal decisions.
Exclusive legal positivism, also referred to as "hard positivism", takes a different stance. It denies that a legal system can incorporate moral constraints on legal validity. Exclusive positivists argue that while amendments may require judges to consider moral standards in certain circumstances, these standards do not become incorporated into the law. In their view, all law is settled law, and questions of settled law can be resolved without recourse to moral arguments. The validity of a law, according to exclusive positivists, depends solely on its source (e.g., being enacted by a legislature) and its compliance with the legal system's formal criteria.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, American jurisprudence does contain case law. It is a "'common law' system, which relies heavily on court precedent in formal adjudications.
Common law may refer to "judge-made" law, otherwise known as case law. Cases are legal determinations based on a set of particular facts involving parties with a genuine interest in the controversy.
American Jurisprudence is an encyclopedia of United States law, published by West. It collects, examines, and summarizes the broad principles of American law. It is a staple of law libraries and is available online through Westlaw and LexisNexis.
