Sources of Our Laws 15.1

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Sources of Our Laws15.1
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Functions of Law

• 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

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Functions of Law

1. Good laws must be fair and treat all people
   equally
2. Good laws are reasonable and set out punishments
   that fit the crime
3. Good laws must be understandable, if the law is
   too complicated people might break them without
   realizing it
4. Good laws are enforceable by communities, states,
   and federal authorities

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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

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History of Laws

• 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

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History of Law

• 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

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History of Law

• Roman law also became the basis of the Catholic
  Church, known as canon law

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History of Law

• 1200 years later, French Emperor Napoleon
  Bonaparte updated the Justinian Code and called
  it the Napoleonic Code laws of Louisiana are
  based this

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History of Law

• 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

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History of Law

• 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

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History of Law

• 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