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Abstract This book is a general introduction to the law and legal system of the United States and the relationship between law and society. Written for both students and general readers, it uses anecdotes, historical detail, and modern scholarship to give overall view of the American legal system. After giving some brief historical background, the book begins with the basic structure of the system: the courts, legislatures, administrative agencies, and the relationship between federal and state law. The book then turns to substantive law, broadly canvassing a range of legal issues with special focus on the criminal justice system and constitutional law and civil liberties. The book finishes with a series of chapters exploring the role of the law, legal culture, and a number of extra-legal factors in changing legal behavior. The book situates American law in its historical and social context, and explains how the law and legal culture reflect and, in some cases, prompt changes in American society.