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

[Aimee Farr]

Kevin, I think, said:

	 However, in practice I can
> >>  think of no situation where this could
> >>  occur- civil law (the primary area where
> >>  common law rules) simply does not involve
> >>  anything the constitution says anything
> >>  about.

Civil law and common law are distinct and oppositional terms. At least they
were once. I don't think you could find a "pure" legal tradition in
developed nations, at least not under my understanding of these polluted
concepts. (Note: I refer to to civil law the same way as Kevin did in
everyday conversation, as do most lawyers.)

But more correctly...

Civil law: Corpus Iurus Civilis 535 CE Justinian (Roman Law - very few
sovereigns, Scotland, I think...); history, statutory interpretation; stone
tablets - 10 Commandments (broad principles anticipate all situations);
rigidity.

Common law: 11th Century England; fact patterns; stare decisis; flexibility;
change-with-the-times; go-with-the-flow.

Jim seems to see/k a pure civil law tradition in the US. If we were in a
*totally pure* civil tradition, his questions would be on the mark. However,
we have a common law legal tradition - even in regard to constitutional
interpretation. Choate advocates a pure civilist legal tradition with THE
CONSTITUTION as the fount. Maybe so does Scalia, but just in regard to the
US Const:
http://aaup.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/99/princeton/5937.ctl

For Choate to even sense the question(s), to get so near it/them...
demonstrates some sort of constitutional idiot sapiency, nevermind his
digital personality disorders. (That's a compliment, Choate.) And, Choate is
(in layman's terms) to some extent correct in regard to revolutionary
"reset" buttons, or divorce lawyers across the country would be citing The
Code of Hammurabi:

	132. If the "finger is pointed" at a man's wife about another man, but she
is not caught 	sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river
for her husband.

	(Hammurabi is ancient family law code... he had the answer to that
paternity thread.)

~Aimee