Court & Hearings

Statutes and Ordinances

Most laws that affect us are passed by legislative bodies such as Congress, a state legislature, or a city or town. These laws are put into writing, published, and available online or in libraries. Congress and state legislatures create statutes; cities and towns create codes and ordinances. Government agencies create regulations. These all act as laws.

Common law

Judges create laws when they decide cases. These decisions make up what is called the common law. The U.S. and state supreme courts create most of the common law by deciding cases and writing opinions explaining their decisions. Federal and state appellate courts also create common law when their supreme court has not yet decided an issue. Most of these court opinions are published online, but older decisions are found in books available only in law libraries. Many common laws originated from English common law.

Precedent

In our legal system, a trial When the issues of a case are heard in court and decided by a judge or jury court judge decides a case by applying the law to the facts. The law may come from laws passed by a legislative body, common law, or a combination of both. 

When judges use common law, they search for past decisions from similar cases. These past decisions are known as precedents. Trial judges follow these precedents to help ensure that the law is constant.

Decisions of higher courts become a binding precedent A court decision made in an earlier case. It sets up a rule that judges will usually follow when deciding a similar case in the same area.  for lower courts within their geographic region. Lower courts must follow binding precedents. All courts must follow any binding precedent decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. Trial court judges must also follow binding precedent decisions by the appellate court in their geographic area. 

An appellate court’s decision is not binding to other appellate courts or trial courts in different geographic regions. These decisions may have a persuasive influence, but this means that other courts may consider them but can still disagree with them.

Overruling precedent

Judges may overrule a past decision, but this is rare. When they overrule a past decision, the judge explains why. A judge's reasons may be because society has changed or the past precedent proved unworkable. When a precedent decision is overruled, the judge can announce a new or modified rule for the facts involved in the case. 

Appeals

Trial court decisions can be appealed to the appellate court in the same geographic region. Appellate court decisions can only be appealed to supreme courts if that supreme court permits the appeal A request to change a court's decision . Some state court decisions may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court if the U.S. Supreme Court gives permission.

Examples of common law in use today

When someone causes injuries to another person or property, that dispute is often subject to the common law of negligence When someone is not careful in protecting the rights and property of others . For example, determining which driver is responsible for damages caused by a car accident is usually resolved using the common law principles of negligence.

Another example of common law is the law of contracts. Judges define how contracts are created and what happens when the promises made in a contract are not kept. A bride’s promise to pay $500 for a wedding photographer, if disputed, is likely to be resolved by the common law of contracts.

Conclusion

Most laws that affect us today come from Congress, state legislatures, cities, and towns. Judges create common law when they decide cases. The U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts create most of the common law. Federal and state appellate courts also create common law if an issue has yet to be decided by their supreme court. Sometimes, common law is overruled, but this is rare.

Trial judges must follow common law from the U.S. Supreme Court and their state supreme court. They must also follow common law from the appellate court in their geographical area.  Negligence and contracts are examples of legal areas where judges have created common law.