I'm UK. I read answers here all the time from our US friends...?

Question

......that suggest laws differ from state to state. WOW.
Is this true? How do these guys cope with that? In UK....it's the law of the land.....not the law of the state. I'm not saying one system is better than the other, and of course, the States is a much bigger country. I just wondered what y'all thought?

Lexi.....show a bit of lenience why don't ya?

Have I hurt or offended anybody? Jeez.

Good point Weatherman. Thanks for that.

Well I'm overwhelmed with such informative replies. Thanks very much to all. I'll have a hard job choosing best......I wish most of you could all get 10 points. Thanks all for the informative replies.

Answer 1

In understanding it (without too much technicalities), "we" all started as independent colonies, prior to joining as United States. Obviously, the colonists griped about giving up authority in certain areas which were of benefit to them.. and wanted to affiliate for mutual benefit (in that instance, being independent of England). And from that foundation, there were certain rights retained by states, and others given to the federal government.
No, it has not worked smoothly. In the 1860's, much of it blew up in a civil war, with some states wanting out of the bargain. Didn't work.
I absolutely agree that it causes a lot of problems. One example is custody laws in divorces, where people (literally) grab kids and take them to another state in hopes of getting a better deal. And there is constant bickering between the federal government or states, as to which one is going to pay for certain things.
I agree, we would solve many things with more consistent laws.

Answer 2

The system In the US has developed from when we were colonies. When the US received its Independence, the leaders were a little weary of a strong central government (they just fought a war to get rid of that). Each state had a separate constitution, laws, even its own money. After our Federal Constitution was written and people became more comfortable with federal power, the national system of law gained strenght. Under our federal Constitution, states legislate over all matters that not reserved for the federal government. If a legal issue isn't covered under federal law then the states control it. States can give its citizens more rights and privileges than afforded under our national system. That is why gay marriage is legal in MA but not in other places.

Most matters posted on yahoo are state legal issues. Lawsuits have been filed in state court so therefore state law governs. General principals are still the same nationally but the details are a little different in each state. From the outside it seams complex but its just how things are done here. Every country does things a little differently.

Answer 3

The US is a Federalist government. Each state is independent yet must answer to the Governing authority of the Federal Government. No State law can supersede a Federal law or be contrary to Federal law. But laws that are not addressed by the Federal Government can be different from State to State. Contrary to some, joining is a one way street. Once a member, always a member (note the Civil War). Below is a definition of Federalism that may assist you.

Political federalism is a political philosophy in which a group or body of members are bound together (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term federalism is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces), Federalism is the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national & state governments, creating what is often called a federation. Proponents are often called federalists.

Answer 4

It's true to a certain extent. The right to freedom is something that is applied in every state, so anything that would impede on that is against the law in every state. Smaller laws such as financial matters and determined by the State however. The reason for this is that each state is kind of like a country by itself, they've all agreed to be united, but at anytime a state could leave. According to the constitution, it should be like this even more so, but we've kind of let the federal government run away with us.

Answer 5

You're confusing the defenition of a state. The UK is a state, Germany is a state, etc. You need to think of the US like the EU. Each state in the US has given certain areas to the federal US government, other areas just like in the EU remain solely with the respective state. This is how we get the name "United" States. The US government can NOT do away with a state or change it's boundaries, remove the state's government , etc. This is contrast to your government that if it wanted to can create/destroy the government/boundaries of lets say Scotland.

Hopefully this lets you understand what's going on here. Most people don't understand a state is a country, that's why Canada has proviences and not states. Here in the US 50 countries have decided over 200+ years to band together and become part of the US.

Answer 6

It comes down to how our governments are run. In the U.S. it is a federal system. Which actually makes it a fairly weak form of government. The U.S. central government is limited in its powers over the states. This actually dates back to the American Revolution, the colonies did not want another absolute body of government so they made the central government weaker than that of the UK. The UK on the other hand has a very strong form of government that is rooted deep in traditions. the House of Commons and the PM are the strongest and because it is a unilateral government it is easy for the PM to get things done and pushed through the House of Commons.

Hope that helped.

Answer 7

Yeh it's true, not all states have the same ages to drink, have sex or share the death penalty. It seems to work for them, the thing is, America is so vast, and each state has it's own identity, so they just cater the rules to how liberal the people are. For example, generally people in the south are more religious and Church going(I'm generlising America before you all go off on one), so the laws tend to be stricter on drink, smoking and sex etc. The one law I find quite amusing in America is jay walking, it's actually illegal in some large cities to cross the road where there is no crossing, and if the crossing is not green! That wouldn't catch on here!

Answer 8

I think having laws state by state is a pretty good idea. After all each state(and city for that matter) has its own government, hence we have our own laws. You just have to be careful when traveling in the states and make sure you become knowledgeble about local laws. I live in Illinois and went to California once and got a ticket for jaywalking-this would never happen in Illinois!! LOL!!!

Answer 9

Yes it's true, but you are seriously out of touch if you feel that it's the same from place to place in the UK.

Scotland has a completely separate judicial system, which is why they have Guilty, Not Guilty & Not Proven as verdists instead of just the two in England & Wales.

And how laws are interpreted in the UK varies from police force to police force

Answer 10

yes, sadly laws do in fact differ state to state. I believe this is a dumb way to do it because Mass. law is most likely the worse, in my opinion that is. I hate living in this state because I am republican while the majority of the state is democratic. Needless to say I disagree with our politicians all the time and cannot wait to leave the state.