Judge-made common law originated as customary unwritten law.

Evidence

The judges could not rely upon parliamentary enactments for guidance; Parliament’s emergence as a legislative body was still several centuries in the future. Nor could the judges rely much on royal edicts, for these did not extend to many of the legal problems confronting the judges. Rather, as William Blackstone observed in his famous treatise on the common law, the judges looked to a body of “unwritten law,” the common law, for guidance. In speaking of the common law as “unwritten,” Blackstone was emphasizing that the doctrines of the common law, unlike legislative enactments, “are not set down in any written statute or ordinance, but depend merely upon immemorial usage.” Common law was thus custom sanctioned by popular acceptance. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 133

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines common law as unwritten custom sanctioned by popular acceptance.
• XREF: connects to: Common-law courts arose from Norman efforts to extend royal authority.; Early English judges drew on unwritten custom because no statutes existed. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 108; Judges created common law by declaring immemorial customs as authoritative principles. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 133 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Early English judges drew on unwritten custom because no statutes existed. #corroborates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 108