American legal systems can be used for reference purposes in conjunction with a students substantive course work or it could be used in connection with an experiential task such as legal research and writing of course it can also be read on its own. Excerpt reproduced from american legal systems a resource and reference guide anderson publishing a member of the lexisnexis group 1997 by toni m fine chapter i basic concepts of american jurisprudence d institutional roles in the american legal system 1 attorney. American legal systems a resource and reference guide toni jaeger fine fordham university school of law it is my hope that this second edition of american legal systems a resource and american legal systems ties many of these concepts to the realities of law practice. This book provides an overview of american legal institutions and sources of law and presents a guide to the interrelationships between and among those institutions and legal authorities it discusses the defining role of the doctrine of stare decisis in the american common law system and the critical judicial review function. American legal systems a resource and reference guide the american legal system is based on a system of federalism or decentralization while the national or federal government itself possesses significant powers the individual states retain powers not specifically