In the U.S law there are five basic sources of law, which will be discussed in this context. The primary sources of the American law are constitutional law, administrative law, common law, statutory law and treaties. “Most U.S. law consists primarily of state law, which can and does vary greatly from one state to the next”(Boundless). The U.S law derived from the English law, but has separated away from it and has incorporated a number of civil innovations. Each of these five sources of U.S law plays an essential role into the making of our law system. With that being understood we will take a deeper look into each source of law exclusively and see what they contribute. First, we are going to look at constitutional law. Constitutional law is a very broad source of law that deals with clarification and enactment of the United States Constitution. “As the Constitution is the foundation of the United States, constitutional law deals with some of the fundamental relationships within our society”(Cornell Law). These relationships include the affiliations between the three branches of government, which are legislative, executive and judicial. Other relations in constitutional law can be interactions between both state and federal government. Two important parts of constitutional law are both judicial review and the Supreme Court. “Judicial review is the idea, fundamental to the US system of government, that the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government are subject to review and possible invalidation by the judicial branch”(Cornell Law). Judicial review makes sure that the three branches of government plays by the “rules”, and judicial review also allows opportunity for a fair ruling. The Supreme Cou... ... middle of paper ... ...usion, we can all agree that all five of these sources contribute to the U.S law in similar yet distinctive ways. This is where functionalism plays a part in the U.S law, because we need each of these precise laws to help function in a proper matter. These laws help define the authority and structure of the U.S law. Having these five certain laws serves as a purpose to help ensure the existence of suitable order, also they provide resolutions to conflicts and provide a safe haven for individuals and they assets that they acquire. Works Cited "Common Law." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. "Constitutional Law." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. "Primary Sources of American Law: Constitutions, Statues and Administrative Regulation, and Case Law." Boundless. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Abadinsky, Howard. Law and Justice: An Introduction to the American Legal System. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
The court determines whether on not an action is constitutional or not through the process of judicial review. Not only do they keep the Legislative and Executive branch in line, they keep other courts in line. Many and very few cases require the Supreme Court to review and overturn decision. Example are the Miranda v. Arizona cases where the police was in the wrong by violating Miranda’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment therefore ruling in Miranda’s favor. Also the Weeks v. United States case was an example of the Fourth and Fifth Amendment being violated was again ruling in the defendent’s favour. Finally, the Plessey v. Furguson case was a little different really displaying the courts power to interpret laws and ruling in the prosecuter’s favour. The Judicial Branch is certainly not the weakest branch and has a more important role than many people
Gunther, G. (1991). Constitutional Law. Twelfth Edition. New York: The Foundation Press, Inc. pp. 1154-1161.
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
Madison, declared the power of the courts to interpret the Constitution and affirmed the power of judicial review. The power of judicial review averted the judiciary branch of the inherent weakness and lack of equality in power among the three branches of government. The independence of the Supreme Court is paramount in protecting the civil liberties granted to citizens. The judicial power afforded by means of the doctrine of judicial review is not superior or above the other two branches of government. The Supreme Court’s duty is to nullify legislative acts contrary to the Constitution. Hamilton expounds the power of the courts in the Federalist Papers No. 78, “it only supposes that the power of the people is superior to both”, and judges should regulate their decisions by the fundamental laws, (Hamilton, 2008). The Supreme Court’s duty is to nullify legislative acts contrary to the
The greatest legal document ever to be written is the United States Constitution. The constitution is ultimately a series of power compromises and is the foundation of common law. Merriam-Webster defines common law as " the area of law that has to do with the subject matter and with the interpretation and construction of constitutions or that deals with the nature and organization of government" (Constitutional Law). Cases involving constitutional law are heard by the United States Supreme Court where judgment is based on the U.S. Constitution. Of the various different articles seated in the constitution, three of them describe a system of checks and balances dividing the national government into three branches. This is also called separation of powers (Beatty, Samuelson, Bredeson 57).
Identify at least 4 primary sources and 4 secondary sources of law that the courts in those cases relied upon in making their decisions (a total of at least 8 sources for this question, not 8 sources from each case). Explain the court’s reason for relying on each of these sources.
America”. The Georgetown Law Journal. 80.95 (1991): 95-129. Georgetown Law Library. Web. 16 Jun 2014
The Supreme Court and Federal court have the same authority as in the Constitution. This system is called checks and balances which prevents the sole power of any one of the three branches. In addition, this power can be divided between the states and Federal government. The Federal government’s role in “domestic and foreign affairs and how they have grown” (Fe...
"Dennis v. United States." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web.
The framers of our great nation all had their own interpretation of how the States should run and after many proceedings, debates and ratifications; the Constitution was born. Too many, there are aspects of the law that cannot be understood simply by reading that document. Much of the confusing interpretations to this document are in part because of customs in the early establishments of the States. Additionally, state and federal laws have been filled in due to the absence of details that were left vague or because the meaning of words and phrases have changed over time. Because of this, the Constitution is continually reinterpreted as it is applied to concrete situations. There are numerous methods for interpreting the Constitution. Through the centuries, legal scholars and justices have advocated to fit the needs of specific cases. The most prominent methods include those that rely on textual interpretation, original intent, precedent, constitutional principles, logical reasoning, or the living constitution. Many judges rely on a combination of these methods to reach their decisions. (Constitutional Interpretation, 2015). In American History. Retrieved from
...Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 265-271. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Tarrant County College. 2 Mar. 2011 .
United States of America. U.S. Supreme Court. Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, 1 Apr. 2003. 13 Nov. 2013
The most effective laws are those laws that are able to coincide with what people do.