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The impact of local codes is most often seen in regard to housing, traffic, and zoning issues. For instance, if you want to build a home of a particular type on a specific piece of property, the construction may have to meet certain zoning requirements in terms of height, size, and proximity to the boundary line. In areas where zoning regulations apply, you probably would not be able to build a ten-story home in a residential community with a building height limit of twenty-five feet. Likewise, traffic laws frequently are set forth in local codes, although those local traffic regulations have to be consistent with any state laws passed on those same issues. Again, the issue of preemption applies. For instance, an absurd situation would exist if every locality were allowed to decide whether a green light meant go or stop.
 

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The federal statutory laws are found in the United States Code. The copy of the Code that most lawyers are familiar with is the United States Code Annotated. The term annotated means there are notations following the code section from court cases that have interpreted or applied that particular statutory code section. The annotations are frequently helpful in interpreting what the true meaning is of that statutory code section.

Most state codes are annotated and contain court decisions from both state and federal courts interpreting the various code sections. Local codes tend not to be annotated simply because the local governments that publish the local codes do not have the financial resources to annotate their local codes. Also, there tends not to be a great volume of case law interpreting local codes.

There is a shorthand abbreviation that is used for references to the United States Code. For instance, 28 USC §1392 is a reference to Title 28 of the United States Code Section 1392. The United States Code contains many volumes, like a set of encyclopedias. All of the titles are numbered sequentially on the binding of each volume. 28 USC §1392 would be found in one of the volumes marked Title 28. Within those volumes, §1392 would be found sequentially.

The state codes may have their own distinct numbering system. For instance, in regard to the Virginia Code, references to a code section would be to a specific numbered section such as Virginia Code Section 8.01-234. That is a reference to Title 8.01. Within that title, you would look for the code section designated as 234. Local codes may be designated in a similar fashion.

The volume of legislation that has been passed by the United States Congress is, in many respects, mind-boggling. There is federal legislation on virtually every issue. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the federal government, even though it seems to be involved in every aspect of our lives, is still a government of limited jurisdiction. You may recall from the section dealing with constitutional law that our founding fathers established the federal government as a government of limited authority with the understanding that whatever authority was not bestowed upon the federal government remained with the state governments. You would never guess that by looking at the volume of federal legislation.

Whatever authority was not bestowed upon the federal government remains with the state governments.

The most significant limitation upon the authority of the federal government is to enact legislation in the criminal sphere. For instance, the federal government has no authority to pass a statute that prohibits homicide in your private home on private property. The federal government does have the authority, however, to pass a law prohibiting homicide on federal land, in a federal building, or against a federal officer. As such, most criminal prosecutions are initiated in the state courts under state law, because the authority of the federal government to enact criminal law truly is limited.

Example: The dichotomy between federal and state law was found in the Rodney King case in Los Angeles, in which police officers were accused of beating a criminal suspect. Those police officers were first tried under state criminal laws and were acquitted (i.e., found not guilty).

The federal government then stepped in and decided that those same police officers would be prosecuted under federal civil rights laws. The federal government had no authority to prosecute them for the crime of assault, since the crime in question did not occur on federal territory, did not involve a federal official, and did not involve a distinct federal interest as far as the assault only was concerned.

The federal government, however, has passed laws that make it a crime for certain persons acting in official governmental capacity to violate the civil rights of people. Those police officers were then prosecuted in the federal court under that federal law. It is in the criminal field that you see the authority of the federal government most clearly restricted in terms of its ability to enact legislation prohibiting certain types of crimes.

At first blush, it would seem that this is a violation of the double jeopardy clause contained within the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It has been held, however, by the courts that it is not a double jeopardy violation since there are two separate sovereigns involved—the federal government and the state government. In addition, there were two separate offenses involved—one was the offense of assault under the state code and the other was a civil rights violation under the federal code.

It is in the criminal field that you see the authority of the federal government most clearly restricted.

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A general principle that applies to this statutory scheme is a principle known as preemption. When there is a conflict on a specific issue between federal statutory law and state statutory law, federal law will generally preempt, or supersede, the state law. That same principle applies in regard to a conflict between state law and local law. Local government cannot enact legislation that is contrary to the state statutory law. The logic behind this concept is that there has to be one entity that is supreme. For instance, it would be an absurd situation if the federal government passed an income tax law and then certain states decided that their citizens would not have to comply with that law. The American Civil War was fought in part over the issue of states’ rights—whether the federal government was going to be supreme or whether the states were going to be supreme on the issue of slavery.
 

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Statutory law falls into three categories—federal statutory law, state statutory law, and local statutory law. The federal statutory law is found in the United States Code. The state statutory law is found in the state code enacted by the legislative body that governs that state. Local statutory law is found in local codes and ordinances. Those local codes may be county codes, city codes, or town codes that are enacted by the local governing body.
 

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Aside from the U.S. Constitution, each state within the Union has a state constitution. Those state constitutions may vary dramatically from one state to another. The key point to remember in regard to the state constitution is that it may bestow additional rights upon the citizens of that state, but it cannot restrict the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
 

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All of the amendments are important. A brief description of the other amendments to the U.S. Constitution follows.

* The Eleventh Amendment states that federal courts do not have the authority to hear lawsuits brought by a citizen or non-citizen of one state against another state in the Union. (This is not to be confused with diversity jurisdiction.)

* The Twelfth Amendment deals with the functioning of the electoral college.

* The Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery.

* The Fifteenth Amendment extends the right to vote to all citizens.

* The Sixteenth Amendment allows for income tax to be imposed.

* The Seventeenth Amendment deals with the number of senators for each state and how vacancies in a senate seat are filled.

* The Eighteenth Amendment enacts prohibition.

* The Nineteenth Amendment grants women the right to vote.

* The Twentieth Amendment deals with presidential succession and the convening of Congress.

* The Twenty-first Amendment repeals prohibition.

* The Twenty-second Amendment imposes limits on how long a person can serve as President.

* The Twenty-third Amendment allows the District of Columbia electors to vote for President and Vice President.

* The Twenty-fourth Amendment establishes the right of citizens to vote without being restricted by paying a poll tax. This is an Amendment principally designed to prohibit states from precluding certain citizens from voting by imposing financial restraints on them.

* The Twenty-fifth Amendment deals with presidential succession.

* The Twenty-sixth Amendment gives 18-year-olds the right to vote.

* The Twenty-seventh Amendment prohibits congressional pay raises from taking effect until the next election of representatives.
 

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There are numerous other amendments passed over the years that are significant. Perhaps the most important of those is the Fourteenth Amendment—one of the post-Civil War amendments ratified in 1868. This Amendment contains several clauses, the most important of which is the so-called Due Process Clause, which expressly indicates that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

You may recall that within the Fifth Amendment there is a due process clause. That due process clause, as is true of the first ten amendments, was deemed to be a restriction of federal power and not state power. This meant that the federal government could not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. That restriction, however, did not apply to the states until the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment. Through the eventual interpretation of the Due Process Clause contained within the Fourteenth Amendment, most of the rights contained within the Bill of Rights were deemed to be no longer simply a restriction on federal power but also on state power. This means that those rights contained within the Bill of Rights apply to citizens not only when dealing with the federal government, but now also when dealing with state and local governments.

The Fourteenth Amendment also contains what is known as the Equal Protection Clause. It states that governmental authority may not be used to deny any person equal protection of the laws. Over time, that equal protection clause was interpreted to preclude governmental authority from denying black citizens the same protection of the laws as were accorded to white citizens.

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The first ten amendments to the Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights. They contain many of the most fundamental rights enjoyed by the American people.

The First Amendment states that Congress has no authority to make any law “respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.” It further states that Congress can do nothing to restrict freedom of speech or freedom of press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government.

The Second Amendment deals with the right to bear arms, but is written in the context of bearing arms as part of a regulated militia.

The Third Amendment states that the government cannot, in time of peace, quarter soldiers in a private home without the consent of the owner. In time of war, the government may only do so in a manner prescribed by law.

The Fourth Amendment deals with unreasonable searches. It expressly states that people shall be secure in their persons, houses, and papers from unreasonable searches and seizures by governmental authorities. It further states that search warrants may be issued only upon a finding of probable cause. That means there must be a determination made, based upon substantial, believable evidence, that the person to be searched has committed a crime or the place to be searched contains evidence of a crime.

The Fifth Amendment defines the concept known as double jeopardy, which means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. That same Amendment further sets forth the right against selfincrimination—that a person cannot be made to testify against him- or herself. This Amendment also contains the foundation of the Due Process Clause, which states that a person cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Due process is a critical concept to our entire legal system. It requires two things:

1. a person must be given notice of the charges or claims made against him or her and

2. a person must be given an opportunity to answer those charges or claims before he or she can be deprived of life, liberty, or property.

The Sixth Amendment provides for the right to a speedy trial and the right to a jury trial in a criminal proceeding. This Amendment further sets forth the right to confrontation in a criminal case, meaning that a person accused of a crime has the right:

* to confront the witness who is making the claim against him or her;
* to compel witnesses in his or her favor to appear in court and give testimony; and,
* to be represented by a competent lawyer in the defense of that criminal charge.

The Seventh Amendment preserves the right to have a jury trial in certain civil cases.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and further disallows punishment that is deemed to be cruel and unusual. This Amendment has been used to argue against capital punishment and other forms of punishment over the years.

The Ninth Amendment states that just because certain rights are set forth in the Constitution does not mean they are the only rights people have. That is to say, whatever other rights the people have, they still retain.

The Tenth Amendment limits the power of the federal government by stating that powers not delegated to the United States Government by the Constitution and not prohibited by the Constitution to the states are expressly reserved to the states or to the people. The initial framers of the Constitution viewed the U.S. Government as a government of limited authority. Whatever authority was not placed in the United States Government rested with the states.
 

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Article One of the U.S. Constitution sets forth the powers of the U.S. Congress. It specifies that there shall be a House of Representatives and a Senate, and defines how those members shall be elected and compensated. It also sets forth general powers and limitations of those legislative bodies.

Article Two of the U.S. Constitution states that the executive power of the government shall be vested in the President. It then defines the extent of that executive power, how the president shall be elected, and what his or her qualifications for office shall be.

Article Three of the U.S. Constitution states that the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in the Supreme Court, as well as inferior courts Congress may establish. The model created in the first three articles of the Constitution is a system of checks and balances. Each branch of government is considered to be equal, and each one in different respects has the ability to check and to balance the others. For instance, the legislative branch has the authority to enact legislation. That legislation is then sent to the president who, as the head of the executive branch, can veto the legislation. The legislative branch may then override that veto. If the law is passed (actually becomes law), then it can be reviewed by the judicial branch for purposes of determining whether it is constitutional and for purposes of interpreting the law. If the legislative branch, for whatever reason, does not like the interpretation imposed on the law by the judicial branch, then it can amend the law so as to expressly state how the law should be interpreted.

Article Four of the U.S. Constitution defines the concept known as Full Faith and Credit, which means that the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of any one state shall be given full faith and credit in every other state in the union. This Article further defines the term known as privileges and immunities, which means that the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the same privileges and immunities as the citizens of any other state. The privileges and immunities clause precludes one state from granting certain privileges or immunities to its citizens that would not apply to citizens of other states. For instance, Minnesota could not grant Jesse “The Body” Ventura the sole right to conduct wrestling matches in that state to the exclusion of all persons who were not citizens of Minnesota. To allow that would be a violation of the privileges and immunities clause.

Article Five of the U.S. Constitution provides for amendments to the Constitution.

Article Six of the U.S. Constitution states that this Constitution and the laws of the United States made pursuant to the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land. That means that if there is any conflict between federal law and state law regarding an issue that the federal government has the right to legislate, then federal law will always be supreme.

Article Seven of the U.S. Constitution provides that nine states are needed to ratify the Constitution before it becomes effective.
 

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