Chapter 11-1. Statutory law versus common law. How does statutory law arise? How does it differ from common law? If statutory law conflicts with common law, which law will govern? Statutory law arises from Congress and the various state legislatures which are another source of law. Courts develop common law rules from the principles underlying decisions in real disputes. Common law is the law created by judges when they interpret statutory law. If statutory law conflicts with common law, statutory law will prevail because the body of statutory law has expanded greatly since the founding of this nation. This expansion resulted in a proportional reduction in the scope and applicability of the common law. However, the common law remains a significant source of legal authority. Even when legislation has been substituted for common law principles, courts often rely on common law as a guide to interpret legislation on the theory that those who drafted the statute intended to codify an existing common law rule.1-2. Stay Decision. In the text of this chapter we stated that the doctrine of stare decisis “has become a cornerstone of the English and American judicial system.” What does stare decisis mean, and why was this doctrine so fundamental to the development of our legal tradition? Stare decisis comes from the Latin language and means "to stand on decided cases". Stare decisis is a flexible doctrine of the court, which recognizes the value of following previous decisions or precedents in cases similar to the one before the court. The practice of courts is to be consistent with previous decision based on similar facts. This doctrine had become central to the development of... middle of paper... Arkansas has one of the highest numbers of STLs in the United States. In an effort to recover the costs incurred in addressing the methamphetamine epidemic, twenty Arkansas counties have filed a lawsuit in federal district court against Pfizer, Inc. and other companies that manufacture or distribute cold and allergy medications. What is the ethical responsibility of the defendants in this case, and to whom do they owe it? Why? [Ashley County, Arkansas v. Pfizer, Inc., 552 F.3d 659 (8th Cir.2009)]In my opinion, Pfizer Inc. and other companies that make or distribute cold and allergy medications are not responsible for the way people use their medications. Pfizer Inc.'s responsibility is to supply these drugs in good condition and to write on the container label a warning to the consumer that this drug can cause serious harm to health if used without a doctor's prescription.