Law And Ethics

Law in the western world before the 12th Century consisted of written laws called Civil Laws which were traced backed to Roman law. In many countries and the state of Louisiana this basic system still exists today. Common law started to develop in England in 1066 after the Norman conquest of Britain. Common law is different than civil law. During the rein of Henry II in the 1100s court decisions were written down. They were also catalogued according to what type of cases they were. When the courts were called upon to make a decision on a similar issue later then they would review the earlier decisions. If they did find one then the principle of the earlier decision was applied.

This is the doctrine known as stare decisis which is a Latin word meaning "to stand by the decision." The principle of stare decisis was a strong one and the judges were reluctant to disregard well-established rules. During the colonial period of America the English common law did not really change and was followed. In 1789, the Constitution became the new foundation of America's legal system which is based upon the common law inherited from England.

With stare decisis a decision can be reexamined or even overruled on a prior decision. It is a jurisprudential policy in which prior applicable precedent must be followed even if it is a new case that could possibly be decided differently by the current justices. The bases of this policy are the assumptions that certainty, predictability, and stability in the law are the main objectives of the legal system. Without it we would be in total chaos.

Reference:

Fremgen, B (2006). Medical Law and Ethics. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Fisher, H., & Pond, D. (2001). Out American Common Law retrieved