Foundations

Sources of Law

A simplified hierarchy of common US legal sources.

Structured Visual

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-06-24; not legal advice; Code encodes a stated structural model, not the law itself. RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Sources of lawLawSimplified sourcesConstitutionHigher sourceStatuteLegislative sourceRegulationAgency sourceCaseJudicial sourceRuleProcedure source
highlighted = computed this step

Foundations honesty note

Honesty note: simplified standard model; jurisdiction US; as of 2026-06-24; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; the chart models a process description, not the law itself.

US model as of 2026−06−24\text{US model as of }2026-06-24

Sources are coordinates

A source coordinate names a source type and a location in the source tree. This lesson uses a simplified hierarchy only.

source coordinate first\text{source coordinate first}

Example source types

The example labels constitutions, statutes, regulations, cases, and procedural rules as different source rows.

source labels only\text{source labels only}

The tree governs the labels

The source tree recomputes 6 source nodes from authored labels. The tree shows coordinates, not interpretation.

source nodes=6\text{source nodes}=6

Diagram note

The diagram gives a source map. It makes no claim that any source controls a real dispute.

source hierarchy only\text{source hierarchy only}

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-06-24; not legal advice; Code encodes a stated structural model, not the law itself. RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Sources of lawLawSimplified sourcesConstitutionHigher sourceStatuteLegislative sourceRegulationAgency sourceCaseJudicial sourceRuleProcedure source

Narrow summary

Source type, source location, and date should be recorded before any legal analysis is attempted.

record source coordinates first\text{record source coordinates first}