Well, it’s not exactly concise, but Timothy Sandefur offers an excellent “Guide for The Legally Perplexed” on The Panda’s Thumb. It’s well worth your time, even if much of it is old news.
3 thoughts on “A concise explanation of the U.S. legal system”
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It’s a good and interesting post. There are a few omissions, however. For example, it doesn’t mention that under our system the party willing to spend the most money generally wins. 😉 Or that we abandoned the notion of a government of limited powers long, long ago. An example of this is that the reasoning of WICKARD v. FILBURN, 317 U.S. 111 (1942) in practice gives unlimited power to the Congress to regulate commerce. Or that the upholding of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act aka Mickey Mouse Protection Act (I forget the decision name, Eldred vs. Ashcroft?) suggests that the Court is inclined to grant the Congress complete discretion in the area of copyrights.
Actually, United States v. Lopez,514 U.S. 549 (1995) tentatively reintroduced the idea that the commerce clause did not extend to absolutely everything.
you’re right Von, very worthwhile site.