Statutes are laws passed by state legislatures (state laws) and by the United States Congress (federal laws). Statutes are one of the primary sources of law in the United States (sometimes referred to as statutory law) and cover a wide variety of legal topics. Courts often rely on statutes to resolve legal disputes (lawsuits) by applying the relevant statutes to the particular set of factual circumstances underlying the dispute.

Courts generally seek the clear and plain meaning of a statute, and if the court finds a statute ambiguous or “ambiguous on its face” (looking only at the words as written) the court may attempt to determine what the legislature intended in enacting the statute—known as legislative intent.

Related statutes are sometimes compiled in groups and referred to as codes—such as the penal code, the family code, or the code of civil procedure. Statutes may be amended (changed) or repealed (eliminated) by the legislature or Congress or declared unconstitutional (and thus unenforceable) by a court.

In Alabama, as in all states, statutes are laws enacted by the state legislature and can also refer to laws passed by the United States Congress. These statutes encompass a broad range of legal areas and are a fundamental source of law, often guiding courts in resolving disputes by applying the law to specific facts. When interpreting statutes, Alabama courts strive to discern the clear and plain meaning of the legislative text. If a statute is deemed ambiguous, courts may look into legislative intent to understand what the legislature aimed to achieve when the law was passed. Statutes in Alabama, similar to other jurisdictions, are often organized into codes based on related subject matter, such as the Alabama Criminal Code, the Alabama Family Code, or the Alabama Code of Civil Procedure. The Alabama Legislature has the authority to modify or repeal statutes, and courts have the power to invalidate statutes by declaring them unconstitutional, rendering them unenforceable.