How Roman Law Has Been Used By The Supreme Court

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Author(s)Mayhew, Tyler
Date Accessioned2022-07-21T16:31:17Z
Date Available2022-07-21T16:31:17Z
Publication Date2022-05
AbstractThroughout the history of the Supreme Court of the United State, it has looked to an ancient system of civil law to fill in gaps, come to new conclusions, or emphasize common law principles. This system is Roman law and has been cited at minimum 153 times by the Supreme Court. The analysis here encompasses a look at the entire history of the Court to determine what extent and frequency it has looked to Roman law to make decisions. By using the Nexis Uni database, 153 cases citing Roman law or the Corpus of Justinian were analyzed to develop a five part categorical analysis on citations of Roman law. These divisions are "Precedential," "Legal Tracing," "Historical Emphasis," "Historical Analysis," and "Filling-the-Gap." In addition to these divisions, analysis on shifts in time revealed that the Court has declined in frequency of usage and moved from a property focus to more grand constitutional questions on fundamental rights. By looking at the authors of each opinion, it was discovered that the area of Roman law is niche among the court, with a third of citations being centered on just six justices. Finally, the importance of civil law jurisdictions as a predictor of when and how Roman law may be used shows why the Court has been given license to look back at the ancient system.en_US
AdvisorWayne Batchis
ProgramAncient Greek and Roman Studies
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/31137
PublisherUniversity of Delawareen_US
KeywordsRoman lawen_US
KeywordsSupreme Courten_US
KeywordsUnited States lawen_US
KeywordsCivil lawen_US
TitleHow Roman Law Has Been Used By The Supreme Courten_US
TypeThesisen_US
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