The ban ended in 1976, when the justices approved newly written statutes in Georgia, Florida and Texas.
Its first written statutes were not, however, compiled until about 1208, and it was not until long after that date that it possessed a "rector".
Contrary to views held by scholars until recently, new research has shown that the Athenian dicasts who sat in judgment did not feel free to base their verdicts on vague notions of equity but adhered, at least in theory, to the literal meaning of the written statutes (nomoi), which they were bound by a solemn oath to observe.
The second element was the fact that in many, if not most, of the poleis (one certain exception was Sparta) the laws were laid down in written statutes, some of them being elaborate and more or less complete codes setting forth procedural methods and substantive rules for the administration of justice.
This crucial term may be translated either 'law' or 'convention', depending on the context; nomoi include not only written statutes but unwritten laws and traditional, socially enforced norms of behavior.
The Rangers versus Celtic divide, Protestant and Catholic in all but written statute, is too toxic, too powerful for local men to be seen as fair and impartial.
The Eighth Circuit wrote narrowly, leaving open the question of whether a more precisely written statute than Nebraska's might pass constitutional muster.
The Patriots violated a clearly written statute in the NFL policy manual, apparently consistently (if not weekly) over a seven-year period.
The administration portrays its proposal, first reported by The Washington Post, as a mere technical fix to clarify a confusingly written statute and says it would not grant the F.B.I. any new powers.
