The (scientific) development of common-law precedent
One of the defining characteristics of common law (as opposed to civil law) is the binding nature of precedent, sometimes referred to by its Latin name of stare decisis. But before the seventeenth century, the defining characteristic of English common law was not this one, but rather that common law reflected universal and customary law, and as such the goal was for judges to utilize previous decisions as merely guides to help them get closer to the true (unwritten) laws of England, not as binding in themselves.
Liberty or inflexibility: reading Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia, current Supreme Court justice and originalist extraordinaire, wrote “Common-Law Courts in a Civil Law System” as a part of A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law. In it explains his approach to legal reasoning and especially to Constitutional interpretation, and especially rejects both legislative history and the so-called “living Constitution” of liberal justices like Stephen Breyer.
Civil law's influence on American common law: the appeal
In “Salamanders and Sons of God,” an article in The Many Legalities of Early America, Mary Sarah Bilder writes about the “Culture of Appeal in Early New England,” and situates the embrace of the right to appeal by New Englanders within the larger English and Roman legal tradition.
Changing technology, changing expectations of privacy
My goal here is to compare and contrast the legal changes that occurred as new technologies – state-run postal services, the telegraph, the telephone, and email, for example – emerged, and through this to seek insight into these larger questions.
Juries and scientific expertise
In the American system (and, perhaps to a lesser extent, in all countries following the Anglo-American legal approach), science and scientific evidence emerges and is interpreted through the actions of the parties involved. Expert witnesses testify for a particular side, and are employed by a particular side.
Net neutrality and deference to the FCC
A few days ago the D.C. Circuit, in a 3 – 0 decision, held that the FCC could not require Comcast, or other broadband providers, to follow principles of network neutrality under their current justification.
Court transcripts and copyright awards
Should a court reporter own the copyright on his or her work product, and be able to force everyone to pay for it into the future. “No,” says an appeals court, overruling a lower court decision to the contrary.
10 Hints for Representing Yourself in Court
It’s not easy to represent yourself in court. Here are some useful tips that may help with in propria persona/pro se litigation (note that this is not legal advice, and in many cases you are well advised to retain your own attorney): 10. Beware case law! For the non-lawyer, case law is not as useful […]
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