The United States, considered as one body politic, has no common law; Federal courts, when acting as common-law courts, follow the common law as it. stands in the particular State where the action arises. As for the States them selves, the common law of England. as it existed at the time of the Revolution, together with such of its statutes as reasonably applied to the Colo nies, became at that time the common law of the States. In the United States, as in England. of course, the body of the common law has devel oped with growing industrial conditions, and has, on the other hand, been from time to time restricted by statutes of the States or of the United States. What we have said in regard to the common law of the States has one excep tion—Louisiana, which, when ceded to this coun try, retained in the main the system of Roman civil law already existing. The common law on a given point is always superseded by a statute covering that point. Thus, in the United States the order of authority of law is: The Federal Constitution; the treaties and acts of Congress: the Constitution of the State; the statutes of the State; and finally the common law. When a
statute is rescinded, the common law on that point again becomes of force, unless there be an older unrescinded statute, in which case that re vives. For a sketch of common-law courts, plead ing. etc., see COURT; PLEADING: etc.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Consult: The commentaries Bibliography. Consult: The commentaries of Blackstone, of Kent, of Stephen (13th ed., London, 1899), of Broom (9th ed., London, 1896) ; Coke, First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: or a f mentary upon Little ton (any edition) ; Pollock and Maitland, His tory of the Laws of England (2d ed., Boston, 1899) ; Stephen, History of the Criminal Law of England (London, 1883). For a statement of the elementary principles of the common law, consult: Robinson, Elementary Lou' (Boston, 1882 ) ; Minor, Institutes of Con mon and Statute Law (2d ed., Richmond, 1876-79).