This chapter is designed to provide you with an

Common Law (cont'd)
Common law combines stability and flexibility.
Common law is predictable, yet it allows legal principles either to be expanded to fit new situations or to be replaced with a new legal principle that better accommodates new or changing social and economic conditions.
Today, statutory law has increased in importance. Statutes have replaced the common law as the primary source of law. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>

Civil Law
Civil law is based on a civil code, a systematic and comprehensive written set of rules of law.
Judges look to the civil code to settle disputes, rather than rely on precedent.
The civil law system considers the legislative code of laws to be a very high source of authority.
Louisiana is the only state whose law is based on both the common and civil law systems. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>

Federalism
The U.S. Constitution is perhaps the most important legal document for our country because it both establishes the federal tripartite system of government and contains our country’s fundamental principles of law.
A state constitution provides a legal foundation for a state in a way similar to that provided for by the U.S. Constitution. A state constitution typically establishes the state branches of government and contains basic principles of law.
Local governments, such as counties, cities, and towns, can enact local laws, including charters and ordinances. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>

Federalism (cont'd)
The U.S. Constitution divides governing and lawmaking power between the federal and state governments. This division is known as federalism.
The Constitution grants the federal government certain powers on an exclusive basis, meaning that states are prohibited from exercising power in those areas, and other powers on a nonexclusive basis, meaning the federal and state governments can exercise their powers in those areas concurrently. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>

Our Tripartite System
The federal and state governments are each divided into three branches:
Legislative—passes statutes setting forth public policy.
Judicial—makes law; interprets constitutions, statutes, and regulations; and settles disputes based on law.
Executive—The president administers and enforces the nation’s laws, conducts foreign affairs, and is commander in chief of the military. Administrative agencies (often considered part of the executive branch) promulgate administrative rules and regulations with the force of law. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>

The full set of 193 PowerPoint slides is available upon adoption. If you are a professor using this book for a class, please contact Rachael Meier at remeier@cap-press.com to request your slides. Copyright © 2021 Carol M. Bast. All rights reserved.<br>