What are the two major sources of law in the United States?

What are the two major sources of law in the United States?

• A. Statutory law and Common law
• B. Criminal law and Civil law
• C. Administrative law and Constitutional law
• D. International law and Domestic law

Answer: (A)

Two major sources of law in the United States are statutory law and common law. Statutory law is the written rules created by legislative bodies—federal Congress, state legislatures, and local ordinances. These are codified in statutes you can read in codes and serve as clear, formal rules. Common law, on the other hand, comes from court decisions. When a statute doesn’t cover a situation or isn’t clear, judges interpret it and establish precedent through their rulings. Over time, those decisions create principles that guide future cases, shaping the law even in areas where no statute directly addresses the issue. So, statutory law provides the written rules, while common law provides rulings and interpretations that fill gaps and develop the law through the courts. The other options describe types or domains of law rather than the primary sources: criminal vs civil are categories of law; administrative and constitutional describe branches or frameworks within the legal system; international vs domestic distinguish between law governing relations between nations and law within a country.

Two major sources of law in the United States are statutory law and common law. Statutory law is the written rules created by legislative bodies—federal Congress, state legislatures, and local ordinances. These are codified in statutes you can read in codes and serve as clear, formal rules. Common law, on the other hand, comes from court decisions. When a statute doesn’t cover a situation or isn’t clear, judges interpret it and establish precedent through their rulings. Over time, those decisions create principles that guide future cases, shaping the law even in areas where no statute directly addresses the issue.

So, statutory law provides the written rules, while common law provides rulings and interpretations that fill gaps and develop the law through the courts. The other options describe types or domains of law rather than the primary sources: criminal vs civil are categories of law; administrative and constitutional describe branches or frameworks within the legal system; international vs domestic distinguish between law governing relations between nations and law within a country.