Excerpt reproduced from [http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=relatedProducts&skuId=SKU45180&catId=88&prodId=45180 American Legal Systems: A Resource and Reference Guide] (Anderson Publishing, a member of the LexisNexis Group 1997) by Toni M. Fine
== Basic Concepts of American Jurisprudence == "What follows are some of the fundamental principles that comprise theAmerican legal system. Each of these is discussed in greater detail in thisand other chapters of this book. They are summarized below in order togive the reader an overview of some of the basics of American common law."
'''1. Impact of Precedent—The Principle of Stare Decisis'''
"The defining principle of common law is the requirement that courtsfollow decisions of higher level courts within the same jurisdiction. It isfrom this legacy of stare decisis that a somewhat predictable, consistentbody of law has emerged."
'''2. Court Hierarchy'''
"Court level or hierarchy defines to a great degree the extent to whicha decision by one court will have a binding effect on another court. Thefederal court system, for instance, is based on a three-tiered structure, inwhich the United States District Courts are the trial-level courts; theUnited States Court of Appeals is the first level court of appeal; and theUnited States Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the law."
"The term “jurisdiction” has two important meanings in American law.One meaning of “jurisdiction” refers to the formal power of a court toexercise judicial authority over a particular matter. Although the termmost often is used in connection with the jurisdiction of a court over particularmatters, one may also speak of matters being within or beyond thejurisdiction of any other governmental entity."
"Second, the federal court system is based on a system of “jurisdictions,”the geographic distribution of courts of particular levels. Forinstance, while there is only one Supreme Court, the court of appeals isdivided into 13 circuits, and there are 94 district courts. See ChapterI.H.3. In addition, each state court system comprises its own “jurisdiction.”As indicated above, the jurisdiction in which a case arose will determinewhich courts’ decisions will be binding precedents."
'''4. Mandatory/Binding versus Persuasive Authority'''
Some of the various sources of law that will be examined are consideredto be “mandatory” or “binding,” while other sources are considered tobe merely “persuasive.” See Chapter I.G. Indeed, a court may completelydisregard precedent that is not binding (i.e., not even consider it to be persuasive).The issue of whether authority is mandatory or persuasive relatesdirectly to the application of stare decisis principles."
'''5. Primary versus Secondary Authority'''
"The various sources of law may also be broken down into primaryand secondary sources of law. Primary sources of law may be mandatoryon a particular court, or they may be merely persuasive. Whether they arebinding or persuasive will depend on various factors.Secondary authority is not itself law, and is never mandatory authority.A court may, however, look towards secondary sources of law for guidanceas to how to resolve a particular issue. See Chapters I.G., II.B. Secondaryauthority is also useful as a case finding tool and for general informationabout a particular issue."
'''6. Dual Court Systems'''
"The American legal system is based on a system of federalism, ordecentralization. While the national or “federal” government itself possessessignificant powers, the individual states retain powers not specificallyenumerated as exclusively federal. Most states have court systemswhich mirror that of the federal court system."
'''7. Interrelationship Among Various Sources of Law'''
"One of the more complex notions of American jurisprudence is theextent to which the various sources of law, from both the state and federalsystems, interrelate with one another. There is a complex set of rules thatdefines the relative priority among various sources of law and between thestate and federal systems."
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