Law of the United States

The body of constitutional, federal, state, and local rules governing the United States and its people, interpreted and enforced by public institutions.

United States Constitution: The supreme law of the United States, establishing the federal government and protecting individual rights. It sits above other domestic laws and defines the powers that make them.
United States Code: The codification of general and permanent federal statutes currently in force. It organizes enacted federal statutes into a usable legal reference.
Common law: A legal tradition in which judicial decisions and precedent are major sources of law. It describes a tradition shaping much American law, not a single nationwide statute.
United States criminal law: The body of law defining crimes and setting procedures and penalties for prosecution in the United States. It governs how governments investigate, charge, and punish criminal conduct.
Articles of Confederation: The first constitution of the United States, in force from 1781 until 1789. Its weak national government prompted the creation of the current constitutional framework.
Federalism in the United States: The division of governmental authority between the national government and the states. It explains why federal and state governments each make and enforce law.
Code of Federal Regulations: The codification of federal regulations issued by executive departments and agencies. It collects rules agencies create under authority delegated by Congress.
Civil law (legal system): A legal tradition that relies primarily on comprehensive codes and statutes rather than binding judicial precedent. It contrasts with the common-law tradition that strongly influences U.S. courts.
United States civil procedure: The rules governing how civil lawsuits are filed, managed, tried, and appealed in U.S. courts. It sets the process for resolving disputes under civil law.
Constitutional Convention (United States): The 1787 meeting in Philadelphia that drafted the United States Constitution. Its compromise produced the foundational document for federal legal authority.

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English lawCompared with: It inherited English common-law ideas but developed under a written constitution and federalism.