Law 123be reconciled? Both parties, sooner or later, must realize that the
issue will not be settled between them. Perhaps, in an earlier age,
men decided to ask a third party, an impartial arbiter, one whom
they both respected, to decide the issue. The decision becomes
a precedent, so that in all future cases, there is an example to refer
to, and the whole issue does not have to be resurrected again and
again.
Scientific revelation changes law by bringing into the process
new and irrefutable evidence, which was previously unknown.
The rules of procedure in criminal cases were changed radically
when it was discovered that there are no two fingerprints alike,
and that the similarities and differences between fingerprints can
be identified. What was once not evidence at all, became
evidence of the highest quality; what was not a part of the law
became an integral part of the law. There are many areas of the
law which have changed because of the discoveries of science
and technology, and new law has been enacted to deal with those
advances. One can only speculate on how many people have
been arrested for drunkenness, when in fact they were suffering
from a diabetic reaction or some other physical problem unre
lated to alcohol. The invention of the breath-testing devices to
measure the alcohol content in the blood has resulted in the
creation of a whole new set of laws.
Codifications, while not a major source of law, have resulted
in some new laws. Codifications are usually the product of a
conscious attempt on the part of a government, or government
agency, or head of government, to bring the body of law into
some organized form. Over the years laws become outdated;
they overlap, contradict, and often confuse those charged with
creating, enforcing, and interpreting them. Perhaps the most
famous historical example of codifying law is the Code Napo
leon. Napoleon called for the codification of French law, and in
the process many archaic laws were retired, contradictions
eliminated, and the need for new laws became apparent.
Commentaries are an infrequent, but interesting, source of
law. Occasionally some lawyer, judge, or scholar writes a
commentary on the law which is so insightful or profound that
the legal establishment take heed of those insights and rushes to
incorporate the ideas into law. Gladstone’s commentaries and
Brandeis’ sociological brief are examples of how commentaries
contribute to the evolution of law.