The set of legal rules used in the U.S. to resolve civil disputes in courts is called what?

• A. Statutory Law
• B. Civil Procedure
• C. Administrative Law
• D. Common Law

Answer: (D)

Common Law is the system of legal rules developed by courts through their decisions and the precedents they establish. In the United States, when civil disputes are resolved in courts, judges apply these rules that have grown out of prior case outcomes, shaping how rights, duties, and remedies are determined. This body of law evolves as new decisions interpret and adapt existing principles, and it works alongside statutory and other legal sources. This concept differs from Civil Procedure, which governs the steps and processes of bringing and handling a lawsuit; from Statutory Law, which consists of statutes enacted by legislatures; and from Administrative Law, which comes from rules created by government agencies. So the set of rules used by courts to resolve civil disputes, as developed through judicial decisions, is Common Law.