Quote:
Originally Posted by darryl
@pwalker8. ....... common law is not a free for all as you imply. Judges are bound by precedent which ensures some consistency, particularly given there is an appeals process, and few judges like to be overruled by a higher court.
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To add to what Darryl said:-
If I remember correctly Common Law was developed in England by judges
to bring about consistency. When William the Conqueror became king in 1066 the judges he appointed found that every county, every town and nearly very village had its own laws and customs which locally had the force of law. As William's judges were the judge over a largish area and traveled from town to village to town they had big problems They therefore decided among themselves to override these local laws and customs with a "Common Law". If the King did not like a law the judges had made, he changed it by issuing a statute.
In England today if there is no legislation covering an issue and a matter comes to court what the judge decides can still become the law. It happens rarely but it still happens.