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Primary Sources Of Law Essay

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Currently, there are four primary sources of law within the United States, constitutions, statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions. The highest order of law are constitutions, which can be found at the federal level, such as the U.S. Constitution, or at a state level, such as state constitutions. First, the U.S. Constitution serves as the primary legal source of federal law, which all states must follow. Similarly, state constitutions serve in the same capacity, but only within the state in which it serves. Further, the constitution, either federal or state, is the foundation of what statutes are developed, as well as regulations, ordinances, and even school board policies. Statutes are enacted by Congress, at the federal level, and by state legislation at the individual state level. The purpose of a regulation is to carry out the law of the constitution, …show more content…

To highlight a few secondary sources, first are treatises, which are a volume of work that provides a deep dive discussion in one particular area of law and often includes references to case law and statutes. Another secondary source is legal encyclopedias. Legal encyclopedias are an expansive set of books that briefly describe the vast majority of the main legal issues for a particular jurisdiction. A third secondary source is restatements. Restatements are developed by scholars to restate the law and provide insight on what the law should be. Secondary resources are useful to educators and non-legal professionals because they often provide a high overview of a variety of topics and related case law, which educators can learn how the law was applied and interpreted. Primary sources, such as constitutions, statutes, and executive orders do not provide educators or non-legal professionals information on how the law should be implemented or how it has been interpreted in case

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