How do case law and statutory law differ?

• A. Case law comes from judicial decisions; statutory law is enacted by a legislature.
• B. Case law is written by legislatures; statutory law is created by judges.
• C. Case law only applies to criminal cases; statutory law only to civil.
• D. Case law is published; statutory law is not.

Answer: (A)

Case law and statutory law come from different sources and are created in different ways. Case law develops from judicial decisions—the rulings courts issue in individual disputes, which create precedents that guide future cases. This body of law evolves as judges interpret rules, apply them to new fact patterns, and resolve ambiguities or gaps. Statutory law, by contrast, is the written rules enacted by a legislative body, like a state legislature or Congress. Those statutes express the legislature’s will in specific terms, and judges interpret and apply them to cases, sometimes clarifying or filling in details through interpretation. In practice, statutory law provides the general rules, while case law explains how those rules work in real situations and develops additional principles through precedent. The statement that case law is written by legislatures or that it applies only to criminal cases isn’t accurate, and both types of law are published and accessible in official reporters and codes.