The more you simplify the law, the more complex the application of the law becomes. Murder occurs when a person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kil

The more you simplify the law, the more complex the application of the law becomes. Murder occurs when a person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kills a person, with malice aforethought. Seems simple the there are hundreds of cases that tell you what exactly the limits of these elements are. Is being drunk sound mind? What constitutes malice aforethought. The law is complicated because reality is complicated. The civil law system keeps it a bit less complicated by not using precedent from old cases. But that means the application in your case is harder to predict. It is your judge making the gut call instead of a history of judges.