State attorneys general have the authority to override county sheriffs' investigations

Policing, prosecution and the agencies that carry them out, from patrol and arrest through detention and the courts. Covers oversight, accountability and the conduct of officers as much as crime itself, and the legal limits placed on the use of state force.

Elections, institutions, legislation and disputes inside American states, covering governors, legislatures, attorneys general and ballot measures. States set most election rules and much of criminal, education and health policy, which makes them the level where federal deadlock is routinely bypassed.