several years ago I skimmed an essay that went into detail about how and why English common law was not in the constitution nor was it really a part of our body of law. Then with in the last week maybe two weeks reference was made to that essay either here or another forum dealing with NBC questions. that reminded me of that essay’s conclusions. English common law has to do with the relationship between a man and his king. That way of thinking will not fit a free man in a new republic which is throwing the entire concept of monarchy in the dirt.
The only commonality between our body of law and English common law is both are written in English and use a lot of latin words.
Quoting the 1898 Supreme Court Case US v Wong Kim Ark:
“It thus clearly appears that, by the law of England for the last three centuries, beginning before the settlement of this country and continuing to the present day, aliens, while residing in the dominions possessed by the Crown of England, were within the allegiance, the obedience, the faith or loyalty, the protection, the power, the jurisdiction of the English Sovereign, and therefore every child born in England of alien parents was a natural-born subject unless the child of an ambassador or other diplomatic agent of a foreign State or of an alien enemy in hostile occupation of the place where the child was born.
“III. The same rule was in force in all the English Colonies upon this continent down to the time of the Declaration of Independence, and in the United States afterwards, and continued to prevail under the Constitution as originally established.”
“Upon the Revolution, no other change took place in the law of North Carolina than was consequent upon the transition from a colony dependent on an European King to a free and sovereign State; . . . British subjects in North Carolina became North Carolina freemen; . . . and all free persons born within the State are born citizens of the State. . . . The term ‘citizen,’ as understood in our law, is precisely analogous to the term ‘subject’ in the common law, and the change of phrase has entirely resulted from the change of government. The sovereignty has been transferred from one man to the collective body of the people, and he who before was a ‘subject of the king’ is now ‘a citizen of the State.’”
The Court in the brief passage above also made the following CLEAR AND UNAMBIGUOUS STATEMENT:
“The same rule was in force in all the English Colonies upon this continent down to the time of the Declaration of Independence, and in the United States afterwards, and continued to prevail under the Constitution as originally established.”
It appears that this Supreme Court decision sets two precedents:
1. English common law was in effect and not Vattel
2. NBC is actually defined.
The source for the above can be found here:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0169_0649_ZO.html