This duality, or multiplicity, brings a new dimension to the complexity of litigation in America.Before a plaintiff commences a lawsuit, he must ask himself whether federal jurisdiction is available in the case. If the answer is yes, he must decide upon a choice of federal court or state court, since each state has its own set of courts, plus at least one federal district court exercising limited federal jurisdiction within that state.

If a dispute arises out of a series of activities in different states, and the substantive rights at issue are defined differently in these states, the choice of applicable law becomes a crucial question and further complicates the legal situation.

Let,s suppose a contract is concluded in one state, performed in another, and the parties live in still others. In this multi-jurisdiction case, which state's substantive laws are applicable?
The body of law known as conflict of laws or choice of laws answers questions of this kind. It provides the court with the applicable substantive law in the multistate transaction or occurrence. The law applicable to a tort is generally said to be the law of the state of place of injury. Thus, a court sitting in state X would follow its own rules of procedure, but it would use the tort law of state Y if the injury occurred in Y. Several choice of law rules are used by courts on issues involving the law of contracts.

1. The law of the state where the contract was made.
2. The law of the place of performance.
3. "Grouping of contacts" or "center of gravity" theory, which uses the law of the state most involved with the contract.
4. The law of the state specified in the contract

The trend toward uniform statutes has tended to decrease these conflicts, but many of them still exist. So, in studying American law, students should be aware that different states may have different substantive laws and different choice of law rules regarding a particular legal situation, resulting in the possibility that the choice of forum may affect the substantive rights of parties concerned.

Answer the following questions :
1. Does America have a uniform legal system?
2. Why do people say that America has fifty one legal systems?
3. Why is it said that each state retains a substantial degree of autonomy?
4. Explain American federalism and its effect on America's legal system.
5. In what ways does the dual legal system complicate the problem of jurisdiction?
6. Is federal jurisdiction extensive?
7. Is substantive law uniform among the states?
8. Are the choice of law rules uniform among the states?
9. Under what circumstances does the choice of law become crucial?
10. Under what circumstances will the choice of forum affect the result of the law suit?
11. In what ways does the dual legal system complicate litigation?