Statutory Law
What Is Statutory Law?
Statutory law is the term used to designate written law –or statutes– created by elected legislators and an official legislative process. It is the primary form of law used by the judicial system.
Examples of statutory law include the minimum legal drinking age of 21 in the U.S. or the traffic violation of running a red light. These laws are not subject to interpretation by the court.
Who Creates Statutory Law?
Elected members of any branch of government at a federal, state, or local level can create statutory law. If a law passes at the local or state level, it is valid in that locality or state only. When a law passes at a federal level, it applies in every state. However, federal law does not necessarily override existing state law.
For example, until recently, four states (Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon) with existing laws that permitted gambling were exempt from a federal law prohibiting sports gambling.
Statutory laws follow the typical legislative process. A bill goes before the legislature for a vote. If that body approves the bill, it goes to the executive branch (the governor in state cases or the president at the federal level).
If the executive signs the bill, it becomes a statute. The executive can veto the bill, sending it back to the legislature. In many cases, if the legislative body passes the bill by a specific margin, it becomes a statute.
Statutes are then recorded and published. They become effective as law on the date written into the bill. In some cases, statutes may be overturned by a subsequent legislative enactment.
Statutory Law Vs. Common Law
Statutory law differs from common law, which is subject to interpretation by the court. If a judge finds that no statutes exist for a case, they will make a ruling based on the evidence. Their verdict could set a precedent that could result in a new statute later.
Statutory laws also differ from administrative laws, which are created and passed by executive agencies. For example, a state may allow its Department of Natural Resources to create its own rules that pertain to its area of governance.
What Are Statutory Codes?
Statutory laws are often codified. That term means that the statutes are collected and given numbers for reference. Individual states have their own coded collections of statutes; federal codes and statutes are part of the U.S. Code (USC).
While there are many types of statutory laws and codes to organize them, the more common ones are:
- Family or civil codes: These statutes include civil claims, labor disputes, divorces, and other legal matters that are not crimes.
- Criminal codes: These laws pertain to issues of criminality.
- Welfare codes: These laws are meant to benefit the public, including health and safety on the job and the reporting of births and deaths.
- Probate codes: These statutes govern the estates of the deceased, including the administration of a trust or the execution of a will.
The USC contains 54 broad topics (or titles) organized by section number. There are four elements in a typical statute citation in the USC. Federal statute citations include the following:
- title number
- section symbol (§)
- section number
- year the law was passed
The USC is published about every six years and supplemented annually. It is available online from the Government Publishing Office. You can also find most statute laws by state online.
You can read the text of the law and information about when the law was passed and if it has been amended. You can also find case summaries of court cases interpreting this statute and cross-references to similar codes.
Helpful Resources:
What Is Statutory Law?
Statutory law is the term used to designate written law –or statutes– created by elected legislators and an official legislative process. It is the primary form of law used by the judicial system.
Examples of statutory law include the minimum legal drinking age of 21 in the U.S. or the traffic violation of running a red light. These laws are not subject to interpretation by the court.
Who Creates Statutory Law?
Elected members of any branch of government at a federal, state, or local level can create statutory law. If a law passes at the local or state level, it is valid in that locality or state only. When a law passes at a federal level, it applies in every state. However, federal law does not necessarily override existing state law.
For example, until recently, four states (Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon) with existing laws that permitted gambling were exempt from a federal law prohibiting sports gambling.
Statutory laws follow the typical legislative process. A bill goes before the legislature for a vote. If that body approves the bill, it goes to the executive branch (the governor in state cases or the president at the federal level).
If the executive signs the bill, it becomes a statute. The executive can veto the bill, sending it back to the legislature. In many cases, if the legislative body passes the bill by a specific margin, it becomes a statute.
Statutes are then recorded and published. They become effective as law on the date written into the bill. In some cases, statutes may be overturned by a subsequent legislative enactment.
Statutory Law Vs. Common Law
Statutory law differs from common law, which is subject to interpretation by the court. If a judge finds that no statutes exist for a case, they will make a ruling based on the evidence. Their verdict could set a precedent that could result in a new statute later.
Statutory laws also differ from administrative laws, which are created and passed by executive agencies. For example, a state may allow its Department of Natural Resources to create its own rules that pertain to its area of governance.
What Are Statutory Codes?
Statutory laws are often codified. That term means that the statutes are collected and given numbers for reference. Individual states have their own coded collections of statutes; federal codes and statutes are part of the U.S. Code (USC).
While there are many types of statutory laws and codes to organize them, the more common ones are:
- Family or civil codes: These statutes include civil claims, labor disputes, divorces, and other legal matters that are not crimes.
- Criminal codes: These laws pertain to issues of criminality.
- Welfare codes: These laws are meant to benefit the public, including health and safety on the job and the reporting of births and deaths.
- Probate codes: These statutes govern the estates of the deceased, including the administration of a trust or the execution of a will.
The USC contains 54 broad topics (or titles) organized by section number. There are four elements in a typical statute citation in the USC. Federal statute citations include the following:
- title number
- section symbol (§)
- section number
- year the law was passed
The USC is published about every six years and supplemented annually. It is available online from the Government Publishing Office. You can also find most statute laws by state online.
You can read the text of the law and information about when the law was passed and if it has been amended. You can also find case summaries of court cases interpreting this statute and cross-references to similar codes.
Helpful Resources: