POL SCI 40 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Originalism, Precedent, Living Constitution
Document Summary
Common law : law derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes. Statutory law : written law, usually enacted by a legislature. Stare decisis : ( to stand on the decisions ) expresses the common law doctrine that court decisions should be guided by precedent. A decision made in one case will beructi followed in the next. Holding : court"s determination of a matter of law based on the issue presented in the particular case (the analytical principle that produced the judgment) Cannot go beyond the facts that were before the court. Subjective legislative intent : the intent of the legislature that is subjective (based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions) cannot really determine the truth. Objective legislative intent : the intent that a reasonable person would gather from the. Meaning of a law depends on what the lawgiver put into effect with words (rather text of the law than what he meant)
