The Federal Government is authorized to pass either a public law or a private law. The difference between the two is that they apply to different groups of society and are codified differently.

Types of Statutes Enacted by the United States

Members of a committee in Congress will draft a proposal regarding a specific policy area. Once finalized by the members, it is proposed in one of the two chambers in the US legislative branch. The chamber will debate and reform the bill and if passed, it will go onto the floor of the second chamber. Once they debate and reform the bill if needed, and agree to pass it, it will go to the Executive to be signed into a law if they approve as well. 

How a Statutory Law in the United States gets Passed 

A law that is enacted by the legislative body of the U.S. Government. At the Federal level of the U.S. Government, a statute will go through the process to be enacted in the U.S. Code that consists of passing 3 publishing acts. 

Michigan State University

The United States categorization of laws. 


Categories of Law in the United States

First Year Legal Research Guide: Statutes and Codes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://lawlibguides.luc.edu/firstyearlegalresearch/statutesandcodes

Statutes and Codes

Statute

A law that is formed from judicial decisions rather than originating from a statute. A decision will be made using the practice of precedent which is based off the principle of ‘Stare Decisis’. Sometimes referred to as 'common law'.

Case Law (Common Law / Judicial Precedent)

This is a regulation created by Federal, State, and local agencies that are related to the executive branch. A regulation that is passed by an appropriate agency will be added to the Code of Federal Regulations.

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