John Doe vs. John Doe: Virginia Court's Decision in Online John Doe' Case Hailed by Free-Speech Advocates

[Sandy Sandfort]

Aimee wrote quoting Jim:

> > If the law is based on precedence, why is the Constitution
> > not the final precedence since it's the primary authority?
>
> You gnaw at a branch and call it a root. You have common law (the law of
> common men, lex communis), and legislative law (bringing the law of the
> sovereign). Common law precedent is an aggregate body of knowledge
> consisting not only decisions, but of logical constructs -- a way of
> approaching and framing legal thought. Common law has never been
> codified in
> a document, it's a body of relational knowledge. The Constitution
> is not the
> primary authority, because constitutions (legislative law) are
> not the root
> of what you see as law. Indeed, the US Const. finds root in common law and
> common right.
>
> Lex est ab eterno.

Correct, to which I would add:

"Precedent" is a word of art.  It means the decision of an appellate court
to which lower courts must defer.  The Constitution can no more be a
"precedent" that it can be a banana.


 S a n d y