Failures of American Methods of Lawmaking in Historical and Comparative Perspectives

This book shows laymen and professionals alike why America's legal system, based on common law, fails to provide rules that people can apply themselves, and how sensible statute law works elsewhere. Its historical aspect shows that Americans wanted legislative-made statutes and its comparative aspect details how another legal system succeeds.

In this book, James R. Maxeiner takes on the challenge of demonstrating that historically American law makers did consider a statutory methodology as part of formulating laws. In the nineteenth century, when the people wanted laws they could understand, lawyers inflicted judge-made, statute-destroying, common law on them. Maxeiner offers the cure for common law, in the form of sensible statute law. Building on this historical evidence, Maxeiner shows how rule-making in civil law jurisdictions in other countries makes for a far more equitable legal system. Sensible statute laws fit together: one statute governs, as opposed to several laws that even lawyers have trouble disentangling. In a statute law system, lawmakers make laws for the common good in sensible procedures, and judges apply sensible laws and do not make them. This book shows how such a system works in Germany and how it would be a solution for the American legal system as well.