Sources of Law Reading PDF

Sources of Law Reading Constitutional Law The U.S. Constitution is known as the “supreme law of the land”. This means that no laws in the country can conflict with what is set forth in the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution extends specific powers to the three branches of government (legislative,...

Sources of Law Reading Constitutional Law The U.S. Constitution is known as the “supreme law of the land”. This means that no laws in the country can conflict with what is set forth in the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution extends specific powers to the three branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial) and divides powers between the national and state governments. The Supremacy Clause found in Article VI (six) of the U.S. Constitution says laws enacted at any level of government may not conflict with the U.S. Constitution. The national government derives its power from the U.S. Constitution, while state governments derive their power from their state constitutions. Under state constitutions, state governments may decide which powers their local governments may have. The Constitution also places limits on certain types of laws. For example, Congress may not pass a law that limits an individual's freedom of religion. Each state also has its own constitution. State constitutions are similar to the U.S. Constitution, but only apply to that state. State constitutions may also contain numerous legal provisions, passed by the electorate in the form of amendments. Statutory Law The U.S. Constitution gives Congress permission to pass laws about specific (but limited) topics. These laws are called statutes. Statutes passed by legislatures apply to everyone in the United States. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explains the specific powers of Congress. You will find many federal statutes related to these enumerated powers. State constitutions also allow state legislatures to pass laws. They are also called statutes. State statutes only apply to inside the state in which they were passed. Local governments may also pass their own laws. Those are called ordinances. Federal Example: Laws related to immigration State Example: Speed limits; high school graduation requirements Local Example: parking zones; jaywalking laws Regulations Each branch of the U.S. government has a different job according to the U.S. Constitution. Congress makes laws, but the executive branch enforces laws. It would be tough for Congress to make a law for everything needed to run our country. So Congress has allowed the departments of the executive branch (i.e. Agriculture, Transportation, Treasury, etc.) to make small rules that are needed to run their departments and enforce the bigger laws. The rules are known as regulations. A regulation is very similar to a law.  Sources of Law Reading Case Law Sometimes, laws based in constitutions, statutes, or regulations are confusing, and people do not agree on what they mean, or how to enforce them. That is where the judicial branch comes in with their ability to interpret laws. If a law is challenged in the court system, once the courts decide how the law should be interpreted, everyone must follow that in the future. This is called a precedent. Prior court decisions, or precedents, make up what we refer to as case law. Common Law Case law is actually part of common law, and often the two terms are used interchangeably. Common law comes only from previous judicial decisions and not from statutes. Sometimes, the law/statutes have gaps or holes. Common law refers to those rules created and applied by courts when a statute may be absent. Common law combines all customs, traditions, and similar prior court decisions (precedents). Natural Law Natural law is the belief that all humans have certain rights derived from nature rather than rules of society. An important part of natural law is “natural rights”. Natural rights are rights that everyone has and they do not overlap with other people’s rights. The most known example of natural law was written into the Declaration of Independence stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Founding Fathers creating the U.S. Constitution were not focused on granting rights, but establishing a government of laws (not men) in order to secure each person’s rights. The founders recognized that a code of laws were necessary to protect natural law. Readings adapted from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/ Image Credits “The Declaration Committee” from the Library of Congress has no known copyright restrictions “The President's Cabinet Websites” from the Harry S. Truman library is under the public domain “The Constitution Page 1” from the National Archives is under the public domain “law book with a gavel” by jcomp is licensed under the Freepik license “SCOTUSbuilding 1st Street SE” is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0