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 Statutes may be amended (changed) or repealed (eliminated) by the legislature or Congress or declared unconstitutional (and thus unenforceable) by a court.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 New Jersey, as in other states, statutes are laws enacted by the state legislature, known as the New Jersey Legislature, which consists of the Senate and the General Assembly. These statutes address a wide range of legal areas and are essential for the governance of state-related matters. Similarly, federal laws are created by the United States Congress and apply nationwide. When resolving legal disputes, New Jersey courts interpret these statutes by seeking their clear and plain meaning. If a statute is ambiguous, courts may look into legislative intent to ascertain what the legislature aimed to achieve when the law was passed. New Jersey statutes are organized into codes based on related subject matter, such as the New Jersey Statutes Annotated (NJSA), which includes the penal code, the family code, and others. The legislature has the power to amend or repeal statutes, and courts have the authority to declare statutes unconstitutional, rendering them unenforceable. The interpretation and application of statutes are fundamental to the judicial process in New Jersey.