Media frenzy after Sessions notes law enforcement's 'Anglo-American' heritage FOX News
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, tweeted that the remarks were "a dog whistle" and "appalling," while actress Alyssa Milano said that Sessions should be "fired immediately."
DOJ officials were quick to point out that Sessions was referring to the precedent-based English common law system that forms the basis of the American legal code.
"As most law students learn in the first week of their first year, Anglo-American law – also known as the common law – is a shared legal heritage between England and America,” spokesman Ian Prior said in a statement. "The sheriff is unique to that shared legal heritage. Before reporters sloppily imply nefarious meaning behind the term, we would suggest that they read any number of the Supreme Court opinions that use the term. Or they could simply put 'Anglo-American law' into Google."
In 2009, then-President Barack Obama cited the "Anglo-American legal system" while discussing his administration's approach to law enforcement, CBS News reported. In 2016, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer used the term "Anglo-American" during a speech in China with no apparent controversy.
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