Common Law

Common Law is the system of legal rules developed over the centuries by English judges in their decisions on cases. Being familiar to the early settlers of North Carolina, the common law was naturally applied during the colonial period; a statute of 1715 required it. After American independence, legislation was passed making the common law the rule in the state unless specifically altered; the North Carolina Supreme Court has consistently defined the "common law" referred to in this statute as that which was in force in England on 4 July 1776. This interpretation remains valid in the state. Undoubtedly, the best source for eighteenth-century common law is Sir William Blackstone's four-volume Commentaries on the Laws of England, first published between 1765 and 1769.