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...... Common law may be contrasted with civil law, which predominates in France and has had less influence on the law of the United States, except in Louisiana. Louisiana judges, unlike their common-law counterparts, are not bound to consider judicial precedent first, but may do so as an option. France exported the system of civil law to America when it established Louisiana as a colony in 1712. Even today, the first article of the Louisiana Civil Code reads: The sources of law are legislation and custom (LA C.C. Art. 1). This means that judges in Louisiana are obligated to look first to written laws for guidance in reaching their decisions. If no statute directly governs the dispute, judges may base their decisions on established custom (Civil law, 2008, The Law Library). Also, unlike common law appellate courts, Louisiana justices operating under civil law may review findings of fact as well as findings of law and overturn the decisions of lower courts because they believe a defendant to be innocent, not merely because there was a legal error
Civil law is heavily influenced by Roman law. However, English law draws upon some Roman laws, such as its definition of forgery, libel

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