Official Legal Texts
• Lawyers and judges resolve disputes by referring to and reasoning
about official legal texts created by the state, texts that is called rules of
law or legal rules
• There are four categories of these legal rules:
○ Statutes
○ The laws, the statutes passed by legislatures
○ The rules defining types of behavior that society wishes to
condemn
□ Crimes
□ Civil rights
□ Income tax rates
○ Legislators do not enact statutes to cover everything
□ When lawyers and judges face a problem not covered
by a statute they turn to common law
○ Common Law
○ The older set of legal texts
○ Judges make law different from legislators
□ Judges decide on individual cases, creating legal rules
○ Many common law rules originated in local custom or in
minds of judges themselves
○ Constitutional Law
§ The Constitution of the United States and the fifty state
constitutions set out the structure and powers of
government
§ They place legal limits on the way those who govern can
use their power
§ Constitutions can only govern the government
□ Presidents
□ Alleged conflict between a constitutional provision
and a decision made by a public administrator who
claims to act under statutory authority.
○ Administrative Regulations claims to act under statutory authority.
○ Administrative Regulations