Does the U. S. Constitution state all the laws of the US?

Answer 1

No. The Constitution is the size of a small pamphlet; the US Code containing all the laws is thousands of volumes. Add in all of the additional "regulations" that have the force of law, and it would fill several (dozen?) libraries.

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IAAL.

The Constitution contains only a few "laws" -- that is, rules that apply to everyone. However, it does permit Congress to enact laws (called "statutes"). These are collected in a set of volumes (one thick volume issued every session of Congress) called Statutes at Large.

Statutes at Large is chronological, which makes it inconvenient to use. The statutes are collected by subject in a set called the U.S. Code. Some but not all U.S. Code volumes have been officially adopted by Congress as the official text of the statutes included, but to get the binding text, you must, at least in theory, go to Statutes at Large. Some enactments by Congress (rulings in individual enforcement actions and proclamations of holidays, for example) are not in the U.S. Code, but are collected separately.

The U.S. Code contains about 100 volumes and fills a large floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

Congress has established well over 100 Administrative Agencies (for example, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Communications Commission), and each agency is given the power to enact Regulations, which have the force of law. Many agencies make several types of enactments. The IRS, for example, has well over a dozen types, ranging from generally applicable Regulations to decisions in individual cases, called Private Letter Rulings, which are, technically at least, not binding in other similar cases.

The agency regulations are collected in a set of paperback books called the Code of Federal Regulations. The CFR contains several hundred volumes and takes up half a dozen large bookcases.

Every business day, the government issues a newsprint pamphlet called the Federal Register containing all new or changed regulations. It ranges from 30 or so pages on a slow day to hundreds of pages on a busy day.

Fortunately for lawyers, all of this is available and searchable electronically, and (expensive) specialized services, such as Lexis and WestLaw, make finding current versions fairly easy.

Finally, each state, each county and each city/town/village has its own statutes, regulations, etc.

And then judges' decisions are binding in particular cases and are often used in similar cases. They are contained in thousands of volumes -- about 3/4 of a law library.

And treatises by specialists in particular areas of law (about 1/4 of a law library) are very influential, and are often treated as binding. What Williston or Corbin say about contract law is often what makes the difference.

Next, there is the Common Law, not contained in any book but nevertheless binding. For example, the "mailbox rule" makes the acceptance of an offer (and the formation of a contract) effective when it is mailed (rather than when it's received).

Finally, people (i.e., their lawyers) make their own law by making agreements (Contracts), which create legally enforceable rights against and in favor of those who sign the contract.

That's why law school takes three years.