Hurtado v California: 1884

Common Law Not Written in Stone

(US Supreme Court) Matthews J spoke of the need for the common law to move forward: ‘as it was the characteristic principle of the common law to draw its inspiration from every fountain of justice, we are not to assume that the sources of its supply have been exhausted. On the contrary, we should expect that the new and various experiences of our own situation and system will mould and shape it into new and not less useful forms.’

Matthews J
(1884) 110 US 516
United States
Cited by:
CitedA and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) HL 8-Dec-2005
The applicants had been detained following the issue of certificates issued by the respondent that they posed a terrorist threat. They challenged the decisions of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission saying that evidence underlying the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Constitutional, International

Leading Case

Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.235926