160 Years Ago

by Timothy Sandefur

On December 21, 1849, California's first civilian governor sent his first message to the first session of the new state's legislature. Peter H. Burnett, originally from Nashville, had served in Oregon's provisional legislature and supreme court before he went to California for the gold rush.

The day after becoming governor, he asked legislators to adopt both the English common law of crimes, rules of evidence, and commercial law, and Louisiana's Civil Code and Code of Practice. Burnett believed this blend would "combine the best features of both the civil and the common law," particularly praising Louisiana's code for its unequaled "simplicity, brevity, beauty, accuracy, and equity." But other members of the bar did not agree. Reconciling the differences between civil law and common law rules, a legislative committee said, would require "the long and patient labor of years ... more labor ... than any legislature would have either the will or the time to bestow." In the end, law-makers adopted the English common law in toto, creating the foundation of all California statutory law.

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