2. United States Constitution （《美国宪法》） ： The United States Constitution is the upreme law of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the nited States Government. The document defines the three main branches of the overnment： The legislative branch with a bicameral Congress， an executive branch led y the President， and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court. Besides providing for the organization of these branches， the Constitution outlines obligations of each office， as well as provides what powers each branch may exercise. It is the shortest and oldest written constitution of any major sovereign state.
3. upreme Court of the United States （美国最高法院） ： The Supreme Court of the nited States is the highest judicial body in the United States， and leads the federal udiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate ustices， who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the“advice and onsent”（ majority vote） of the Senate. Once appointed， Justices effectively have life enure， serving“during good Behaviour”，which terminates only upon death， esignation， retirement， or conviction on impeachment. TheCourtmeets in Washington， D.C. in the United States Supreme Court building.
4. tare decisis （遵循先例） ： Staredecisis （ Abbreviation of theLatin： Staredecisis etnon quieta movere/English： maintain what has been decided； not alter that which has been established） is thelegal principleunder which judges areobliged to follow theprecedents established in prior decisions.
5. United States Code （《美国法典》） ： The United States Code （ USC） is a compilation nd codification of the general and permanent federal law of theUnited States. It contains 50 titles and is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.
6. Federal Register （《联邦公报》） ： The Federal Register （ since March 14， 1936） ， bbreviated FR， is theofficial journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies. The Federal Register is compiled by the Office of the Federal Register （ within the National Archives and Records Administration） and is printed by theGovernment Printing Office.
7. Code of Federal Regulations （《美国联邦法规总览》） ： The Code of Federal Regulations（ CFR） is thecodification of thegeneral and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFR is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation.
8.hevron doctrine （“切弗伦”案理论） ： Chevron U.S.A.， Inc. vs. Natural Resources Defense Council， Inc.， 467U.S. 837（ 1984） ， was a casein which theUnited States SupremeCourt set forth the legal test for determining whether to grant deference to a government agency s interpretation of its own statutory mandate. Chevron is the Courts clearest articulation of the doctrine of“administrative deference”， to the point that the Court itself has used the phrase“Chevron deference”in more recent cases.
9.ational Archives and Records Administration （美国国家档案与文件署） ： The nited States National Archives and Records Administration （ NARA） is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents. NARA is officially responsible for maintaining and publishing the legally authentic and authoritative copies of acts of Congress， presidential proclamations and executiveorders， and federal regulations.
10. Napoleonic Code （《拿破仑法典》） ： The Napoleonic Code is the French civil code， stablished under Napoléon I in 1804. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four minent jurists and entered into force on March 21， 1804. It is considered the first uccessful codification and strongly influenced the law of many other countries. The ode， with its stress on clearly written and accessible law， was a major step in stablishing the rule of law. Historians have called it“one of the few documents which ave influenced the whole world.”
I Reading comprehension.
1.ow many sources does the law have in the United States？ What are they？
2. Is the United States Constitution the supreme law of the land？
3. Why has much of contemporary American common law diverged significantly from British Commonwealth common law？
4. Where did the federal law traditionally focus on in the beginning？
5. How are the laws in the Statutes at Large arranged？
6. What is the law of Louisiana based upon？
7. Who contributed to the idea of codification？
8. What is the advantage of codification？
IIFill in the blanks with the words and expressions in the box.
federal legislative expenditure Constitution
divisiondelegatedthe Supreme Courtefficient
The American Constitution founded federalism and introduced checks and balances into government for the first time in history. The check and balance system was based on（ 1）of power. For this purpose， the founders of the Constitution designed the（ 2）system in which governmental power was divided between the federal and state governments.
The second division of power is among thedifferent branches of thegovernment. It is called the check and balance system. In this system， the power （ 3）to the Federal government is divided among three separate， but interdependent branches： the （4）， the Executive， and the Judicial. Congress is the Legislative branch. It enjoys the power to make laws， levy taxes and appropriate money to cover government （ 5）. The Executive branch， known as the administration， is headed by the President whose duty is to execute thelaws passed by Congress. TheJudicial branch of theUSA is composed of a series of law courts： （ 6）， 11 courts of appeals， and 91 district courts.