Examples of “common law reception statutes”
Virginia, Va. Code §§ 1-200, 1-201, www.state.va.us/cmsportal3/government_4096/codes_and_laws.html
§ 1-200. The common law.
The common law of England, insofar as it is not repugnant to the
principles
of the Bill of Rights and Constitution of this Commonwealth, shall
continue
in full force within the same, and be the rule of decision, except as
altered
by the General Assembly.
(Code 1919, § 2, § 1-10; 2005, c. 839.)
§ 1-201. Acts of Parliament.
The right and benefit of all writs, remedial and judicial, given by
any statute or act of Parliament, made in aid of the common law prior
to
the fourth year of the reign of James the First, of a general nature,
not
local to England, shall still be saved, insofar as the same are
consistent
with the Bill of Rights and Constitution of this Commonwealth and the
Acts
of Assembly.
(Code 1919, § 3, § 1-11; 2005, c. 839.)
Virginia’s 1776 statute stated: [The] common law of
England,
[and] all statutes or acts of Parliament made in aid of the common law
prior to the fourth year of the reign of King James the first . . .
shall
be considered as in full force, until the same shall be altered by the
legislative power of this colony.
New York Constitution, 1777, Article XXXV,
avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ny01.asp
And
this convention doth further,
in the name and by the authority of the good people of this State,
ordain,
determine, and declare that such parts of the common law of England,
and of the
statute law of England and Great Britain, and of the acts of the
legislature of
the colony of New York, as together did form the law of the said colony
on the
19th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and
seventy-five, shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to
such
alterations and provisions as the legislature of this State shall, from
time to
time, make concerning the same. That such of the said acts, as are
temporary,
shall expire at the times limited for their duration, respectively.
That all
such parts of the said common law, and all such of the said statutes
and acts
aforesaid, or parts thereof, as may be construed to establish or
maintain any
particular denomination of Christians or their ministers, or concern
the
allegiance heretofore yielded to, and the supremacy, sovereignty,
government,
or prerogatives claimed or exercised by, the King of Great Britain and
his
predecessors, over the colony of New York and its inhabitants, or are
repugnant
to this constitution, be, and they hereby are, abrogated and rejected.
And this
convention doth further ordain, that the resolves or resolutions of the
congresses of the colony of New York, and of the convention of the
State of New
York, now in force, and not repugnant to the government established by
this
constitution, shall be considered as making part of the laws of this
State;
subject, nevertheless, to such alterations and provisions as the
legislature of
this State may, from time to time, make concerning the same.
North Carolina, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 4-1 (1999), www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/statutes/Statutes.asp
§ 4 1. Common law declared to be in force.
All such parts of the common law as were heretofore in force and use
within this State, or so much of the common law as is not destructive
of,
or repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the freedom and independence of
this State and the form of government therein established, and which
has
not been otherwise provided for in whole or in part, not abrogated,
repealed,
or become obsolete, are hereby declared to be in full force within this
State. (1715, c. 5, ss. 2, 3, P.R.; 1778, c. 133, P.R.; R.C., c. 22;
Code,
s. 641; Rev., s. 932; C.S., s. 970.)
Alabama, Ala. Code § 1-3-1 (1975), www.alabama.gov/portal/index.jsp
Common law of England adopted.
The common law of England, so far as it is not inconsistent with the
Constitution, laws and institutions of this state, shall, together with
such institutions and laws, be the rule of decisions, and shall
continue
in force, except as from time to time it may be altered or repealed by
the Legislature.
(Code 1907, §12; Code 1923, §14; Code 1940, T. 1, §3.)