Each American state has its own constitution alongside the federal one.

Evidence

Constitutional law is the fundamental law within a political unit, embodied in the Constitution itself and in the decisions of courts and other bodies interpreting that document. The Constitution establishes the government and prescribes how public business shall be conducted. More specifically, it creates the major offices within a government, determines how they shall be filled, distributes governmental power among those offices, defines the procedures by which government shall operate, and establishes limitations on the scope of governmental power. The United States has 51 constitutions: the federal Constitution establishes the national government and governs its operations, and state constitutions do the same for the governments of the 50 states. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 153

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth noting that constitutional law includes interpretive court decisions, not just text — a point central to the course theme of judges interpreting law.
• XREF: connects to: The United States has fifty-one separate constitutions; State constitutional policymaking involves federal and interstate courts as well as state institutions — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3368; American states frequently replaced whole constitutions rather than amend them — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 657

Broader Connections

• The United States has fifty-one separate constitutions #expands (0.95)
• State constitutional policymaking involves federal and interstate courts as well as state institutions #expands (0.70) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3368