Supremacy Clause

• In the United States, federal law always takes precedence over state laws. All jurisdictional conflicts between various laws are resolved under what is known as the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which states that federal law trumps state law when they conflict. Local laws are likewise subordinate to state law in this hierarchy.
  
  

Federal Civil Law

• The federal government reserves to itself powers that deal with national and international interests or interstate concerns. Federal law regulates and controls international trade, the issuing of currency, control of armed forces, conduct of foreign affairs and the setting up and running of federal courts. Federal laws are exclusively enforced in their own courts. For example, bankruptcy may only be addressed in the federal Bankruptcy Court.
  
  

State Civil Law

• State courts take responsibility for enforcing their own criminal and civil laws. State governments have sole responsibility for establishing their own government systems. They are free to hold elections and establish public school systems and any public bodies not controlled by the federal government. Each state elects politicians to represent its interests at the federal level.
  
  

Local Civil Laws

• Federal and state governments avoid interfering in the respective legal domains of local government wherever practicable. Changes in local laws may be made by elected local officials. Civil matters concerning the borrowing of money or providing for the general welfare of citizens and utilities will come under local legislation and is considered a delegation of power to local government by federal and state lawmakers.
  
  

Criminal Law

• Jurisdictional questions in the area of criminal law are more complex. For example, drunken driving is a state crime, while bank robbery is a federal offense. If you are on federal property and are cited for drunken driving, it becomes a federal case rather than a state case.
  
  

Federal Criminal Law

• Federal courts prosecute cases involving smuggling of controlled substances. They also handle most cases involving bank robbery, bank fraud, mail fraud, theft of mail, bribery of public officials and offenders who flee from one state to another. Both state and federal authorities deal with narcotics crimes, but any drug trafficking across state lines immediately becomes a matter for the federal government.
  
  

State and Local Criminal Law

• Criminal cases dealt with by state courts include felonies such as murder, rape and child molestation, possession and use of controlled substances, domestic violence, assault and battery, robbery, grand theft and shoplifting, plus misdemeanors. Local criminal laws concern misdemeanors that state government chooses to delegate to local courts.