Legal System of The United States - Essay Example

Each state government within the US is independent in governing its people. Presently, there are 50 US states which are self-governing and make their own decisions. Federalism is quite domineering in reference to the America’s legal system because the Constitution defines the rights and obligations of each individual state in direct relation the federal government. Basically, the purpose of this essay is to augment this argument that the legal system of America cannot be explicated without discussing federalism because both are closely connected.

The following discussion will scrutinize many impacts executed by federalism on the US legal system. There is huge federal involvement in many justice functions that are left to be performed by the national and state governments. This federal involvement in the justice and law enforcement area has not always been so conspicuous throughout the US history as it is now. Now, the federal government regularly contributes to assisting the administration in control of the Department of Justice and makes a number of critically important recommendations.

It is suggested that the greatest involvement of federalism in law enforcement that was ever witnessed in the US history was during the Nixon Administration (Meese). It was under the governance of late US President Nixon that federalism really picked momentum and gained confidence in the actual functioning process of law enforcement. Prior to the Nixon rule, there was hardly any noticeable presence of federalism, but following that and in every successive governing period the Congress is seen to be considerably influenced by this particular political ideology.

While many potential benefits are offered by federal involvement in crime control and justice department, there are also some disadvantages. Critics see many problems attached to federalism playing a potential role in local crime control in each state and it is even thought that the underlying motives of federal involvement can be unauthentic and flawed. The influence inflicted by federalism on local law enforcement agencies is undeniable, but it cannot always be justified or considered necessary.

It is one of the not so positive impacts produced by federalism on the legal system of the US that whenever the Congress perceives any law or penalty to be politically outstanding and practical, it decides to sign it and implement it in the state even when it is not necessary and regardless of the nature of the law. The bedrock of the federal system is constructed by effective distribution of control between the national and state governments (Federalism Overview). The legal system in the US is heavily inspired by the political philosophy of federalism which explains why all 50 self-governing states in the US have the power to define their own standards which may not be similar to those of the federal government.

Both national and state governments are in charge of devising very important national policies which have huge repercussions for the public. But, there is a division of control between the central government and each of the 50 states and the roots of this division are entrenched in federalism. There is such heavy involvement of federalism now in every legal area and national or local policies that the legal system of the US cannot be studied or assessed now in separation from federalism because they are not separate subjects now but have blended into one over time. It is