Crimes & Penalties by State

Every state has a unique set of laws (statutes) and court opinions, which together make up that state's criminal law. Even crimes as common as burglary can vary in the details from state to state. If you're interested in knowing how your state defines and punishes a particular crime, you need to either read the statutes and court cases or -- far better -- read an article that has done the work for you.

Below you'll see links to each of the 50 states (and the District of Columbia, too). On each state's page, we've posted articles on common crimes. We're constantly adding articles, so if you don't see a crime covered on your state's page, please bear with us.

Please Click on Your State Below:

Looking Up the Law

Finding the Law Online

The articles on this site contain citations to the laws that they explain.
Your State's Laws May Offer More Protections

What you learn here, when it comes to defendants’ rights, is the least you can expect, and you may be better protected if your state has liberalized the rules established by the Supreme Court.

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