Primary Source Of Law

The Sources of Law

According to a dictionary, the definition of the law is too abstract and long for our basic understanding. Therefore, less think of law as the rules that govern, guide actions and relations among and between people, establishments, and governments. These laws are generated from numerous foundations and there are many different sources. The power of making such laws are given to the people or their representatives. The primary sources of law in the United States, rely on each other and are the most fundamental.

The Constitution

The U.S. Constitution is an act of the people themselves, therefore, the Constitution is a source of laws. These sources of laws can be described in at least three ways. First, the U.S. Constitution

The court consists of a governmental body of one or more judges who preside over cases and determine disputes by issuing judgments (Harris & Brickley, 2013). There are two reasons courts are a source of law. Courts participate in judicial review and courts influence law when they resolve disputes by deciding a case. A discussion of judicial review and the common law prompts the ideas of point of reference and stare decisis (National Paralegal College, 2017). At the point when a case is decided, the decision becomes a precedent, in which a similar case will be decided in a similar way. There are two types of precedents, binding and persuasive. Binding precedent is modeling that must be referred to or followed by a court (Harris & Brickley, 2013). It applies when a lower court is thinking about a case similar to a case already decided on by higher court in its jurisdiction. Persuasive precedent, is the opposite, it’s guidance that is not binding on a court’s decision, but may be relevant and used when considering a case (Harris & Brickley,

Whatever situations a law may apply, be that as it may, is not always clear. This is when courts must participate in legal interpretation to decide the legislature’s intent. There are numerous things courts will take into consideration to include binding precedent; actual language; legal history; context; general and specific; treatment by other courts; legal treatises and other scholarly literature; common law; and other jurisdictions’ statutes. However, the Supreme Court is the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress, and the U.S. Constitution (National Paralegal College, 2017). It can tell the U.S. President that his/her actions are not allowed or illegal by definition of the Constitution. It can tell Congress and state governments that a law they passed violates the U.S. Constitution and can no longer be consider a