Federal Common Law

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that common law on the federal level is embodied in the decisions of the courts at every level. The writer maintains that the final decisions on many such issues are decided by the Supreme Court, which itself is governed by the body of common law in its emphasis on precedent. The writer points out that common law is law that developed and continues to evolve in the courts. The writer concludes that in the federal system, common law is part of the mix used by judges in interpreting statutes and in deciding rights and responsibilities, and the decisions they make then become part of the body of common law to be tapped by others in the future.

From the Paper:

"The common law is the law of precedent as set by the courts in using, interpreting, and adjudicating these laws and other legal traditions. This is the process in many countries, with the courts carrying out the mandates of the legislature and giving different degrees of deference to those statutes or to a written constitution. This process has been examined from a number of standpoints to determine how it aids or hinders in development and carrying out social policy. Edwin Stevens Robinson examines more specifically the role of law and lawyers as roles operating as rules. The judicial mind operates by a process of deliberation based on contents that are largely social, and the social role thus again becomes an issue in the development and application of rules."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bishin, W.R. & Stone, C.D., 1972, Law, language and ethics, Mineola, New York, The Foundation Press, Inc.
• Gummow, W.M.C., 1999, Change and Continuity: Statute, Equity, and Federalism, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Posner, R.A., 1996, The Federal Courts: Challenge and Reform, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
• Schachter, J.S., 1998, The confounding common law originalism in recent Supreme Court statutory interpretation: Implications for the legislative history debate and beyond, Stanford Law Review, Volume 51, Issue 1, retrieved February 13, 2006 from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001393842.
• Simpson, A.W.B., 1995, Leading cases in the common law, Oxford, Clarendon.

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