the legal system of the united states is based on the english common law
Law of the United States At both the federal and state levels, with the exception of the state of Louisiana, the law of the United States is largely derived from the common law system of English law, which was in force at the time of the American Revolutionary War.[14][15] However, American law has diverged greatly from its English ancestor both in terms of substance and procedure,[16] and has incorporated a number of civil law innovations.
List of courts of the United States The U.S. federal court system hears cases involving litigants from two or more states, violations of federal laws, treaties, and the Constitution, admiralty, bankruptcy, and related issues.[2] In practice, about 80% of the cases are civil and 20% criminal.[1] The civil cases often involve civil rights, patents, and Social Security while the criminal cases involve tax fraud, robbery, counterfeiting, and drug crimes.[1] The trial courts are U.S. district courts, followed by United States courts of appeals and then the Supreme Court of the United States. The judicial system, whether state or federal, begins with a court of first instance, whose work may be reviewed by an appellate court, and then ends at the court of last resort, which may review the work of the lower courts.[3]