Who makes case law?

Answer 1

An answer to that question covers just about everything you will learn in law school! Among the fundamental objects of 'the law,' two of the most important are consistency and predictability. Legal disputes that arise out of the same facts should produce the same results, so society in general can know in future that if the facts are A B & C, the legal results will be X Y & Z. Case law is the study of legal cases that have been decided by courts, often by appeal courts. A typical law student will read about 10,000 (yes, ten thousand) cases during her/his three years in law school. They are, of course, categorized by subject matter, such as contract law, property law, constitutional law and criminal law (to name a few of the first year courses). Most juridictions in the US and Canada (as well as Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries with an English heritage) have 'received' English common law as the basis of their legal systems. Over hundreds of years, cases have been decided by courts, then published in a variety of legal reporting series. Much of the law we live under today is this common law (or case law). It does not have its foundation in legislation. It relies on the decisions of courts in applying the common law consistently, over hundreds of years, and in applying the law to novel fact situations in accorance with well-established principles of the common law. Likewise, legislation must frequently be interpreted by courts when it is applied to specific fact situations. Legislation is drafted to cover general situations, but it is impossible to foresee each and every possible specific fact situation. Courts have, again over many years, developed consistent methods of interpreting legislation. This too is part of case law, applying previously decided cases to new fact situations in order to produce consistent results. If you have digested this much, then your law professor will now assign you about 30 pages of cases to read in preparation for the first class of the first day of the first of the four core courses you will take in your first year law school. (Don't let me scare you. Law school was the best intellectual experience I ever had.)

Answer 2

Judges