Page "Common law" Paragraph 61

For example, following the American Revolution in 1776, one of the first legislative acts undertaken by each of the newly independent states was to adopt a " reception statute " that gave legal effect to the existing body of English common law to the extent that American legislation or the Constitution had not explicitly rejected English law.

Some states enacted reception statutes as legislative statutes, while other states received the English common law through provisions of the state's constitution, and some by court decision.

British traditions such as the monarchy were rejected by the U. S. Constitution, but many English common law traditions such as habeas corpus, jury trials, and various other civil liberties were adopted in the United States.

Significant elements of English common law prior to 1776 still remain in effect in many jurisdictions in the United States, because they have never been rejected by American courts or legislatures.