I hope that your presentation about Britain went well last month, Melissa. Did you use all the ideas which we gave you? Did you get a good mark for your presentation? It's a shame that you didn't have time to say 'thank you' to any of the people who took the time and trouble to answer your question, though. Good luck with this one.

1) Many important things are regulated by state law and are different in each of the fifty states. 2) The United States has trial by jury. Judges rule on what the law is, but the facts of the case--whether a defendant is innocent or guilty--are made by a jury of ordinary citizens.

There is no official authority for the English language, and no official dictionary. In the United States, individual named Noah Webster decided to write and publish a textbook for schools on spelling. It was successful and he went on to write and publish a dictionary in 1828, "An American Dictionary of the English Language." It too was successful and it and its later editions became the unofficial standard in the United States. Webster decided arbitrarily to change the spelling of a few words. He made them simpler and more logical than in British English. He is personally responsible for most of the British/American spelling differences (colour/color, centre/center, traveller/traveler, gaol/jail etc.) He didn't ask anyone. He just did it because he thought it was a good idea. It's my opinion that his changes did more harm than good. "Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged" is the unofficial authority. This very large, heavy, single volume is often found at the back of the room in high school English classes in the United States.