Law of Pennsylvania


The law of Pennsylvania consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes form the general statutory law.

Constitution

The organic source of state law is the Constitution of Pennsylvania. Although the original Constitution of Pennsylvania was ratified in 1776, more than ten years before the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania, like all state constitutions, is subordinate to the federal constitution, which by its own terms is the supreme law of the land.

Legislation

Pursuant to the state constitution, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has enacted various laws, known as "slip laws". These are published in the official Laws of Pennsylvania, also known as the "Pamphlet Laws" or generically as "session laws". Pennsylvania is currently undertaking its first official codification process in the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. They are published by the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau.
There are also several unofficial sources for statutes. The old, unofficial codification is Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes, which is also being updated in line with the new codification as Purdon's Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated. In addition, there are several historic sources of session laws. The Pennsylvania Statutes at Large contain charters, laws in force and obsolete laws from 1682 through 1809; publication began in 1896 and are being digitized by the LRB. Smith's Laws contain public laws in force from 1700 through 1829, and were published prior to the Statutes at Large, beginning in 1810.

Regulations

Pursuant to certain statutes, state agencies have promulgated bodies of regulations . The regulations are codified in the Pennsylvania Code. The Pennsylvania Bulletin is the weekly gazette containing proposed, enacted and emergency rules and other notices and important documents. Changes in the Pennsylvania Code are made via the Pennsylvania Code Reporter, a monthly loose-leaf supplement. They are compiled, edited and supplemented by the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau.

Case law

The legal system of Pennsylvania is based on the common law of England, and Pennsylvania has a reception statute providing for the "reception" of English law. All statutes, regulations, and ordinances are subject to judicial review. Pursuant to common law tradition, the courts of Pennsylvania have developed a large body of case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Commonwealth Court.
The official reporter for the Supreme Court is the Pennsylvania State Reports since 1845. There are no official reporters for either the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court, but the Pennsylvania Reporter is an unofficial reporter. There is no official reporting of decisions of trial courts, but County Court opinions are selectively published in the Pennsylvania District and County Reports. Many counties also publish their own reporters which contain select trial court opinions for that county. Estate and trusts trial cases are published in the Fiduciary Reporter, and local government cases are published in Chrostwaite's Pennsylvania Municipal Law Reporter. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts also posts opinions from the Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Commonwealth Court on its website.
Superior Court opinions were published in the Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports from 1895–1997, and Commonwealth Court opinions were published in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Reports from 1970–1995.

Local ordinances

Municipalities may enact and enforce local ordinances.

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