- The laws that govern each state are enacted by the respective state legislatures.
- These statutes are subject to scrutiny by state courts.
- A law may be ruled unconstitutional by a court if it is determined that the legislation is in conflict with the constitution of the state.
- The handbook that the Law Library of Congress provides for each state can be used to research state laws and regulations.
What is state law?
In the legal system of the United States, the term ″state law″ refers to the laws that are in effect in each individual state. Each of the fifty states that make up the United States is a separate sovereign nation, complete with its own set of state laws, state constitution, state administration, and state courts.
How have state laws changed in the United States?
- In the centuries since the United States gained its independence, state laws have significantly diverged from one another.
- As a result, the United States cannot be regarded as a single legal system with regard to the majority of types of law that are traditionally under the control of the states.
- Instead, the United States must be regarded as 50 separate systems of tort law, family law, property law, contract law, and criminal law, among other types of law.