#civil-law

I’ve been reading up on the U.S. court system for a bit, and I keep bumping into the terms “civil law” and “common law” and I’m not sure I get the distinction. Is it just a historical naming thing, or does it affect how cases are decided today? I’ve heard that civil law courts follow statutes more strictly while common law courts rely on precedent, but that sounds a bit oversimplified. I’d love some help untangling this—especially any examples of how the two approaches play out in real cases. Thanks in advance! 🙏