Laws Within Laws: State Sovereignty Examined

In the United States, state law refers to the law of each separate U.S. state. The fifty states are separate sovereigns, with their own state constitutions, governments, and courts. Each state has a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances. The laws of any given state invariably differ from those of its sister states, and the U.S. must be regarded as 50 separate systems of tort law, family law, property law, contract law, and criminal law.

State law vs federal law

In the United States, state law refers to the law of each separate U.S. state. There are fifty states, each with its own system of laws and courts, and each with its own state constitution, state government, and state courts. All states have a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances.

State laws cover areas such as tort law, family law, property law, contract law, and criminal law. For example, in the context of family law, state laws govern divorce, child custody, and guardianship. In the context of wills, the requirements for creating a valid will may vary from state to state.

Federal laws, on the other hand, apply to everyone in the United States. The federal government and state governments share power, and conflicts between federal and state laws are resolved by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that federal laws have superiority over state laws. Federal laws are created by Congress, which is the lawmaking branch of the federal government. If the president chooses to veto a bill, Congress can usually vote to override the veto. However, if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, which is known as a "pocket veto".

Some topic areas are governed by both state and federal law, such as when federal funds are offered to a state. In addition, a federal court may require a state to refrain from enforcing a state law if it conflicts with federal law. If there is no conflict with federal law, however, a court should enforce the state law.

State constitutions

In the United States, state law refers to the law of each separate U.S. state. The fifty states are separate sovereigns, with their own state constitutions, state governments, and state courts. Each state has a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances. States retain the power to make laws covering anything not otherwise preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate.

The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This indicates that states did not surrender their power to adopt a constitution when the U.S. Constitution was adopted. The commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands do not have organic acts but operate under local constitutions.

The diversity of state laws can be observed in various areas of law, such as tort law, family law, property law, contract law, and criminal law. For example, many states have "three strikes laws", which impose harsher sentences on defendants convicted of certain felonies three times, with the penalty upon the third conviction often being a mandatory life sentence. Differences in state laws can have practical implications for individuals, such as in the case of divorce or the creation of a will, where the requirements may vary from state to state.

State legislatures

In the United States, state legislatures are responsible for creating laws that apply within their state's jurisdiction. Each state has its own constitution, government, and courts, and these legislatures are tasked with approving the state government's budget and establishing government agencies and their policies. They also set the budgets for these agencies. For example, a state legislature could set up an agency to manage environmental conservation efforts within the state and then provide the funding for it.

The laws passed by state legislatures can vary widely from state to state, and even the laws of neighbouring states can be very different. This is because each state has modified its laws to suit its own internal conditions and needs. This can be an important issue for individuals moving from one state to another, or those involved in legal cases that cross state lines. For example, different state laws regarding wills can come into play if an individual moves to another state, and divorce laws can be affected by the residency of the individuals involved.

State supreme courts

In the United States, each state has its own constitution, government, and courts, and can make laws on any matter that is not covered by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate. State supreme courts are typically the final interpreters of state laws and institutions, unless their interpretation presents a federal issue, in which case the decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Constitution establishes a federal system of government, with power shared between the federal government and the state governments, each with their own court systems. The U.S. Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, and appellate jurisdiction on almost any other case involving a point of constitutional or federal law. The Supreme Court's most well-known power is judicial review, or the ability to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court's decisions can have a significant impact on society, with the potential to affect individuals' day-to-day lives. For example, in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969), the Court held that students could not be punished for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, affirming that "students do not shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate." In another case, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Court ruled that affirmative action programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, respectively, demonstrating the power of federal law over state constitutions and laws.

State law differences

In the United States, state law refers to the law of each separate U.S. state. The fifty states are separate sovereigns, with their own state constitutions, state governments, and state courts. Each state has its own written constitution, and these documents are often far more elaborate than their federal counterpart. For example, the Alabama Constitution contains 310,296 words, more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution. All states have a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances.

State laws cover areas not already covered by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate. State supreme courts are the final interpreters of state laws unless their interpretation presents a federal issue, in which case a decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The laws of any given state differ from those of its sister states. For example, a state may have three-strikes laws, which impose harsher sentences on defendants convicted of certain felonies three times. In the context of divorce, different state law issues arise related to residency. If an individual moves to a different state, they should have a qualified lawyer review their will document to ensure it conforms to the laws of the new state.

Some states were originally Mexican territory and have inherited unique features from the civil law that previously governed them. For example, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas have a community property system for the property of married persons. Many western states, including California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming, use a system of allocating water rights known as the prior appropriation doctrine, derived from Spanish civil law. Each state has modified the doctrine to suit its internal conditions and needs.

Frequently asked questions