Download 15 1Sources of Our Laws

15.1 Sources of Our Laws
Civics and Economics
Functions of Law
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Laws are sets of rules that allow people to live together
peacefully, they affect nearly everything we do
A major purpose of laws is to keep the peace and
prevent violent acts; laws set punishments that are
meant to discourage potential criminals
Laws also set rules for resolving disagreements over
money, property, contracts and other noncriminal
matters
Functions of Law
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Good laws must be fair and treat all people
equally
Good laws are reasonable and set out
punishments that fit the crime
Good laws must be understandable, if the law
is too complicated people might break them
without realizing it
Good laws are enforceable by communities,
states, and federal authorities
History of Law
The Code of Hammurabi
 The first known system
of written law was the
Code of Hammurabi
 King Hammurabi of
Babylonia compiled it
about 1760 BC, it was a
collection of 282 laws
regulating everyday
behavior and prescribed
harsh penalties
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTM
History of Laws
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The Ten Commandments
Another set of early laws is the Ten Commandments
in the Bible, Hebrews in ancient Palestine followed
these laws which include moral rules
History of Law
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Roman Law
In AD 533 Emperor
Justinian I, ruler of the
Byzantine Empire
ordered Roman laws into
a body of rules called the
Justinian Code
History of Law
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Roman law also became the basis of the
Catholic Church, known as canon law
History of Law
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1200 years later, French
Emperor Napoleon
Bonaparte updated the
Justinian Code and called
it the Napoleonic Code;
laws of Louisiana are
based this
History of Law
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English Law
The most important
source of American law
is English law, perhaps
the greatest contribution
is the English system of
common law
Common Law= law
based on court decisions
rather than a legal code
History of Law
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When judges decided a
new case, they looked in
the books for a similar
case and followed the
earlier ruling, or
precedent
The law came to include
basic principles of
citizens’ rights such as
trial by jury and the
concept that people are
considered innocent until
proven guilty
History of Law
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Written statutes came to
dominate the English
legal system but
common law continued
to have a strong
influence; when English
settlers came to North
America they brought
their traditions of
common law and
individual rights