I am not talking about English common law specifically. I am use the phrase in the general sense.
Two different systems of justice developed in Europe:
1. In one system the judges were given the power to interpret the law as they saw fit.
2. In the other, the judge was expected to rule with deference to precedence and case law.
The second is refered to as a Common Law System. That is the type of justice system America has.
Two different systems of justice developed in Europe:
1. In one system the judges were given the power to interpret the law as they saw fit.
2. In the other, the judge was expected to rule with deference to precedence and case law.
The second is refered to as a Common Law System. That is the type of justice system America has.
Interestingly enough, the English Common Law System owed it's existance to the Presumption of a Monarchy. The term "Magistrate" was derived from the Latin word for "Master", which is no doubt the correct description of the relationship between the Magistrates of the Court and the rest of the population.
Kings appointed Magistrates to Handle the every day legal cases which were beneath the King's interest to deal with, but let it never be forgotten that the Judge was a representative of the King and spoke on his behalf in his own "Court" room.
I have recently been looking at a few legal issues, and I was amused at the jargon used in the legal profession. "Comes now the Plaintiff", "Pleading", "Writ of Execution", and so forth, all seemed reminiscent of the trappings of Monarchy. That was when I realized that this was exactly right. The English Court system derived it's status and Power from the Crown, and it seemed to me that too much of what is customary in our legal system is a remnant from the Monarchical descent and practices of the English Court system.
When we broke with the Monarchy, we should have turned much of this stuff out on it's ear. When a Person goes to court, it is not appropriate to describe as a "Pleading" when an American is only asking the court to do it's D*mned Job! Americans do not Beg or Plead, they request, as from one equal to another. According to OUR law, the Judge is not supposed to be better than any other American, he is supposed to be our equal, and entitled to no more respect than is anyone else. The Judge even sets upon a throne! :)
I am thinking it is about high time we impeached the imperial judiciary, and Make them operate under the principles that the United States was founded on.
Now what was it you were saying about that English Common Law stuff? :)