What is "common law"?

Question

What is "common law"?

Answer 1

Originally there really was one set of laws for commoners and one for royalty.

The term is usually associated in the U.S. with "common Law Marriage" which means two people have lived together without getting married for a length of time, usually 7 years. Those cases used to be recognized as being married in some states. I don't know if that is true any longer, if so, it's only in a few states. There is no body of common law in the U.S., and it has gone the way of the Dodo in most states too.

Answer 2

Common law is the creation of legal rules based on court decisions made by judges, it first developed in 17th century england. Common law has all but been done away with in the U.S. as most common law rules have been replaced by modern statutes. For example, Robbery is a common law idea. It is the breaking and entering of a home and night with intent to commit a felony. Most states have taken the common law idea of robbery and replaced it with "breaking and entering" and made it a crime to enter ANY structure and ANY time with an intent to commit a felony.

Answer 3

Common Law = Judge Made Law.

Answer 4

Common law is a law made by a judge or the court in the absence of a statute. at one time or another, many states followed common law and some have adopted it, expect the state of Louisiana (because of it was French territory).

Answer 5

Common law is created and modified by courts, on a case-by-case basis. In resolving a legal dispute, an "ideal" common law court looks first to precedent. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision (this principle is known as stare decisis). If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases, it will resolve the matter itself, with reference to general legal guidelines. Thereafter, the new decision becomes precedent, and will bind future courts under the principle of stare decisis. Over time, the precedent created by past decisions forms a complex set of rules that are designed to apply to a wide variety of cases. These rules are collectively known as "common law."