Crimes And Punishment In Colonial America
"In Colonial America the court structure was quite different from Great Britain. The colonial system was a hierarchy of overlapping courts and
common law was the law of the land. The common law was greatly influenced by moral law because it was based on moral law which was derived from the Bible. ..."
http://www.historyrocket.com/American-History/Crimes-And-Punishment-In-Colonial-America.html