ABSTRACT
In addition, there was another system, rivaling that of the common law, which also originated in the Middle Ages: the Court of Chancery, which exercised jurisdiction over suits in equity. Judges in equity, originally ecclesiastical dignitaries, intervened to correct the harshness or inexibility of the common law on grounds of morality or conscience (Scott and Kent 1967). An excellent exposition of the origins, development, and complexities of the common law, which does not assume professional legal training, can be found in the slim volume Origins of the Common Law (Hogue 1985). e reception of the common law of England in the United States was characterized by a process of selective adoption, providing for the continuity of English and American legal principles, but transforming them for American use by specic legislative enactment or judicial decision. In other words, the principles of English common law were drawn on as sources of guidance, but did not always nd acceptance. As Justice Story said in a leading case:
The common law of England is not to be taken in all respects to be that of America. Our ancestors brought with them its general principles, and claimed it as their birthright; but they brought with them and adopted only that portion which was applicable to their condition. (Van Ness v. Pacard 1829)
e most prominent characteristic of early American law was the strong tendency toward codication. Although the common law served as a fundamental subsidiary law, there was a paucity of lawyers trained in the English tradition and few law books available to transmit the corpus of English common law doctrine. Historically, this was the pragmatic basis for the adoption of elaborate and rather complete codes of law, which constituted most of the law under which the American colonists lived (Walsh 1932). A century ago, case law was the dominant ingredient in American law, and legislation was of lesser importance. Today, with the enormous growth of the federal regulatory agencies and the tendency toward comprehensive law codication (e.g., the Uniform Commercial Code), “legislation has fully come of age as a form of American law” (Jones et al. 1980, 3).
