3 ms·
> The US Supreme Court is unusual in running roughshod over the political process as much as it does. This is in part because the US legal system is based on c
by vitus 4y ago
> The US Supreme Court is unusual in running roughshod over the political process as much as it does.
This is in part because the US legal system is based on common law / case law, whereas most of Europe is based on civil law.
- Gibbon1 4y agoI've been thinking of late that the role of lawyers in shaping US laws and institutions is under appreciated. Deference to courts is probably a result of that.
- skissane 4y agoThat’s not really true - because most other common law jurisdictions aren’t like the US in this regard, the US is actually an outlier among common law countries, most of which prefer to resolve controversial social issues through legislative rather than judicial processes
- vitus 4y agoI don't disagree that the US is an outlier even compared to other common law jurisdictions such as the UK, but I'd argue that the common law framework is a necessary (albeit insufficient) condition for what the US judiciary is doing. For instance, decriminalization of abortion in Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Morgentaler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Morgentaler