In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, state law refers to the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

of each separate

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

. The fifty states are separate sovereigns, with their own state constitutions,

state governments A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

, and state courts. All states have a

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

which enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations pursuant to statutory authorization, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances. States retain

plenary power A plenary power or plenary authority is a complete and absolute power to take action on a particular issue, with no limitations. It is derived from the Latin term ''plenus'' ("full"). United States In United States constitutional law, plenary p ...

to make laws covering anything not preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the

federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

. Normally,

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...

s are the final interpreters of state institutions and state law, unless their interpretation itself presents a federal issue, in which case a decision may be appealed to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

by way of a petition for writ of ''

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

''. State laws have dramatically diverged in the centuries since independence, to the extent that the United States cannot be regarded as one legal system (as to the majority of types of law traditionally under state control), but instead as 50 ''separate'' systems of

tort law A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

, and so on. Most cases are litigated in state courts and involve claims and defenses under state laws. In a 2012 report, the

National Center for State Courts The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is an independent, non-profit organization focused on improving the administration of justice in the United States and around the world. Its efforts are directed by a 27-member board of directors and thr ...

' Court Statistics Project found that state trial courts received 103.5 million newly filed cases in 2010, which consisted of 57.8 million traffic cases, 20.4 million criminal cases, 19.0 million civil cases, 5.9 million domestic relations cases, and 1.9 million juvenile cases. In 2010, state appellate courts received 272,795 new cases. By way of comparison, all federal district courts in 2010 together received only about 282,000 new civil cases, 77,000 new criminal cases, and 1.5 million bankruptcy cases, while federal appellate courts received 56,000 new cases.

State legal systems by state

* Law of Alabama *

Law of Alaska Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Law of Arizona The Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) is the name given to the statutory laws in the state of Arizona. The ARS went into effect on January 9, 1956. It was most recently updated in the first regular session of the 53rd legislature. There are currentl ...

Law of Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Law of California The law of California consists of several levels, including Constitutional law, constitutional, Statutory law, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulati ...

Law of Colorado The law of Colorado consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, local, and case law. The ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Colorado is the foremost source ...

Law of Connecticut The law of Connecticut is the system of law and legal precedent of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Sources of law include the Constitution of Connecticut and the Connecticut General Statutes. Legal history Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The F ...

Law of Delaware Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of Florida The law of Florida consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The ''Florida Statutes'' form the general statutory law of Florida. Sources The Constitution of Florida i ...

Law of Georgia The law of the U.S. state of Georgia consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The ''Official Code of Georgia Annotated'' forms the general statutory law. Sources The ...

Law of Hawaii Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

* Law of Idaho *

Law of Illinois The law of Illinois consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The ''Illinois Compiled Statutes'' (ILCS) form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Il ...

Law of Indiana The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the U.S. state of Indiana. The contents are the codification of all the laws currently in effect within Indiana. With roots going all the way back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana hav ...

* Law of Iowa * Law of Kansas *

Law of Kentucky Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) is the name given to the body of laws which govern the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States. They are created pursuant to the Kentucky Constitution and must conform to the limitations set out in the Constitutions o ...

Law of Louisiana Law in the state of Louisiana is based on a more diverse set of sources than the laws of the other 49 states of the United States. Private law—that is, substantive law between private sector parties, principally contracts and torts—has a ...

Law of Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

* Law of Maryland *

Law of Massachusetts The law of Massachusetts consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local ordinances. The '' General Laws of Massachusetts'' form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Massachuse ...

Law of Michigan The law of Michigan consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The ''Michigan Compiled Laws'' form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Michigan is the foremost source of state la ...

* Law of Minnesota * Law of Mississippi *

Law of Missouri The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government. State government Constitution The fourth and last Constitution of Missour ...

Law of Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia ...

* Law of Nebraska * Law of Nevada * Law of New Hampshire *

Law of New Jersey The law of New Jersey consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law. Sources The Constitution of New Jersey is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the New Jersey L ...

* Law of New Mexico *

Law of New York Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law of North Carolina The law of North Carolina consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local law. Sources The Constitution of North Carolina is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the Gene ...

Law of North Dakota The North Dakota Century Code is the collection of all the statutes passed by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly since the state's admission to the Union. It also includes the North Dakota Constitution. The numbering system for the Century Code ...

Law of Ohio The law of Ohio consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory, local and common law. The ''Ohio Revised Code'' forms the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Ohio is the foremost source of state l ...

* Law of Oklahoma * Law of Oregon *

Law of Pennsylvania The law of Pennsylvania consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The ''Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes'' form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Pennsylvania is the forem ...

* Law of Rhode Island * Law of South Carolina * Law of South Dakota * Law of Tennessee *

Law of Texas The law of Texas is derived from the ''Constitution of Texas'' and consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local laws and regulations. Sources The Constitution of Texas is t ...

* Law of Utah * Law of Vermont *

Law of Virginia The law of Virginia consists of several levels of legal rules, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local laws. The ''Code of Virginia'' contains the codified legislation that define the general statutory laws for the Comm ...

Law of Washington Law of Washington may refer to: * Law of Washington (state) * Law of Washington, D.C. {{Short pages monitor