I was about to precede the driving test but the car went out of control :)

The common law system is a system that gives weight to precedential decisions. This law system is based on the principal that cases that bear similar facts to previous cases should be treated the same. If similar a case has been resolved in the past, the court is "bound" to follow the reasoning behind that decision in their case.

When there is a tie vote in the U. S. Supreme Ct., the lower court's decision (the one being appealed) is effectively affirmed, and the case has no precedential value.

"Laws" are not derived from "case law" - DECISIONS of the court are derived from case law.

Additional information:

Case law in Ohio is established by having written opinions of court cases published in one of the appropriate Ohio Official Reports. The three official reporters in Ohio are the Ohio Supreme Court Reports, Ohio Appellate Reports and, for trial court cases, Ohio Miscellaneous Reports. All Ohio Supreme Court opinions are published; however only those appellate and trial court opinions that the Ohio Supreme Court Committee to Review Reporting of Opinions approves for publication are published.

Once an opinion is published in the official reports, it becomes precedent for future cases having similar sets of facts under similar legal grounds. The precedential authority of a reported opinion is what makes it "case law."

Opinions which are not approved for publication have no such precedential authority and are not considered "case law."

The rules for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the US fall under Title 11 Chapter 7 of the United States Code and cover hundreds of pages of statutory law, plus thousands of pages of precedential court rulings and state level modifications to exemptions and other areas which differ from state to state. The best way to find out about chapter 7 bankruptcy is to speak with a qualified local attorney about your situation so that you an receive the information most pertinent to your needs and locality.