Defining Laws And Describing The Differences Analysis
Defining Laws and Describing the Differences
LAW/421
December 09, 2013
Defining Laws and Describing the Differences
There are classifications and categories of law that can be helpful to use to determine what law corresponds with a particular action or crime. Some of the laws we will be looking at in this paper are; substantive law, procedural law, criminal law, civil law, common law, and statutory law.
Two of the first laws that we can define and find differences in are the common law and statutory law. If we look at common law, it is derived from custom and judicial precedents versus statutes. Whereas statutory law according to Melvin (2011) “statutory law stem from the authority of the legislature” (p. 10). One example of the statutory law could be the trial of MacPherson v. Buick Motor Company in 1916, which a judge based his decision on a similar case that was tried a year earlier against Cadillac. …show more content…
The civil law can be described as a body of law directly concerning the rights and duties between two parties. Some example of civil laws are; being sued for not paying rent, violating a contract, or producing and selling an inferior product, this is considered to be more of a compensation or restitution law. The wrongdoer is not punished; he or she simply needs to make good on the wrong they have done. However, the criminal law is very much different. This law deals with crime and legal punishment of criminal offenses such as theft and murder. Within a criminal law, the standard of proof must be within a reasonable doubt, whereas the civil law must provide a preponderance of
LAW/421
December 09, 2013
Defining Laws and Describing the Differences
There are classifications and categories of law that can be helpful to use to determine what law corresponds with a particular action or crime. Some of the laws we will be looking at in this paper are; substantive law, procedural law, criminal law, civil law, common law, and statutory law.
Two of the first laws that we can define and find differences in are the common law and statutory law. If we look at common law, it is derived from custom and judicial precedents versus statutes. Whereas statutory law according to Melvin (2011) “statutory law stem from the authority of the legislature” (p. 10). One example of the statutory law could be the trial of MacPherson v. Buick Motor Company in 1916, which a judge based his decision on a similar case that was tried a year earlier against Cadillac. …show more content…
The civil law can be described as a body of law directly concerning the rights and duties between two parties. Some example of civil laws are; being sued for not paying rent, violating a contract, or producing and selling an inferior product, this is considered to be more of a compensation or restitution law. The wrongdoer is not punished; he or she simply needs to make good on the wrong they have done. However, the criminal law is very much different. This law deals with crime and legal punishment of criminal offenses such as theft and murder. Within a criminal law, the standard of proof must be within a reasonable doubt, whereas the civil law must provide a preponderance of