Legal Systems
Law of the United States
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The U.S. legal system comprises many levels of codified and uncodified law, including acts of Congress, ratified treaties, executive-branch regulations and federal case law, under the supreme authority of the Constitution. It descends directly from English common law in force in British America at the time of the American Revolutionary War, but has diverged greatly from its English ancestor in substance and procedure and has incorporated a number of civil-law innovations. Federal statutory law is consolidated in the United States Code and administrative law in the Code of Federal Regulations, though most day-to-day litigation occurs in state courts under state constitutions and codes.
Facts
Origin Year1789 is when the U.S. Constitution took effect as supreme law, the clearest defensible founding date for U.S. law as a distinct national system. Example JurisdictionsUnited States of America, federal system plus fifty states 1 Primary Source of LawThe Constitution as supreme law, elaborated through federal and state statute, administrative regulation and case law under dual federal and state sovereignty 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
U.S. law descends directly from English common law, though it has diverged substantially since.
The Uniform Commercial Code is a defining instrument of U.S. commercial law.
Includes
Sources
1. Law of the United States (Wikipedia)
Wikipediaarticle bodyQuote, article body
the supreme law is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as various civil liberties.
1. Law of the United States (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
Originalism (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Constitutional Interpretation, Lead paragraph - in-legal-systemQuote, Includes: Constitutional Interpretation, Lead paragraph - in-legal-system
Originalism is a legal theory in the United States which bases constitutional, judicial, and statutory interpretation of text on the original understanding at the time of its adoption.
Originalism (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Robert Bork, History section - in-legal-systemView the Source Originalism (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Antonin Scalia, Proponents section - in-legal-systemView the Source Bill of Rights Transcript (National Archives)
National Archives and Records AdministrationIncludes: Double Jeopardy, Fifth AmendmentView the Source Griswold v. Connecticut (Wikipedia)
Includes: Griswold v. Connecticut
Exclusionary Rule (Wikipedia)
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.