State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1 PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791466148
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The first systematic analysis of the obstacles to state constitutional reform.

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1 PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791466148
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The first systematic analysis of the obstacles to state constitutional reform.

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 3

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 3 PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791467121
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Nationally recognized experts analyze how states deal with major constitutional issues.

Understanding State Constitutions

Understanding State Constitutions PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691070667
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
The distinctiveness of state constitutionalism -- Explaining state constitutional development -- Eighteenth-century state constitutionalism -- Nineteenth-century state constitutionalism -- Twentieth-century state constitutionalism -- State constitutional interpretation.

Making a 21st Century Constitution

Making a 21st Century Constitution PDF Author: Frank Vibert
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1788118057
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
Democratic constitutions are increasingly unfit for purpose with governments facing increased pressures from populists and distrust from citizens. The only way to truly solve these problems is through reform. Within this important book, Frank Vibert sets out the key challenges to reform, the ways in which constitutions should be revitalised and provides the standards against which reform should be measured.

Toward A More Perfect Union

Toward A More Perfect Union PDF Author: Neil L. York
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438424671
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Toward a More Perfect Union is the last of a three-volume series examining the Constitution—as it was drafted and ratified, and the uses made of it over the past two hundred years. Each volume includes essays first presented at conferences on the Bicentennial of the Constitution held at Brigham Young University in 1985, 1986, and 1987, and several additional essays written especially for these anthologies.

The First American Constitutions

The First American Constitutions PDF Author: Willi Paul Adams
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 0742580105
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
For the last twenty years this book has been cited by every serious writer on early American constitutional development. Any constitutional history of the independent United States must begin with this comprehensive study. Professor Adams combines a European perspective and a thorough knowledge of the antecedents of 1787 to create an insightful analysis of the replacement by the revolutionary generation of one government by another by—they thought—'constitutional' means. Acting for 'the people' in 11 of the 13 rebelling states, various kinds of self-empowered committees, 'congresses,' or 'conventions' created new constitutions and a system in which the states dominated over the weaker Confederation government. This volume contains two new chapters: one demonstrating precedents in the state constitutions for the U.S. Constitution, and another chapter critically testing the 'republicanism over liberalism' thesis against political ideas and institutional arrangements that constitute the first state constitutions. The bibliography has been updated to include the rich body of work written during the last two decades, much of it indebted to this pioneering study.

State Constitutional Law

State Constitutional Law PDF Author: Randy James Holland
Publisher: Ingram
ISBN: 9781634596824
Category : Constitutional law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this, the second edition of State Constitutional Law: The Modern Experience, the authors present cases, scholarly writings, and other materials about our ever-evolving, ever-more-relevant state charters of government. The casebook starts by placing state constitutions in context--in the context of a federal system that leaves some powers exclusively with the States, delegates some powers exclusively to the Federal Government, and permits overlapping authority by both sovereigns in many areas. The resulting combination of state and federal charters--what might be called American Constitutional Law--presents fruitful opportunities for give and take, for exporting and importing constitutional tools and insights between and among the different sovereigns. The casebook often addresses the point by explaining how the U.S. Constitution deals with an issue before discussing how the state constitutions handle an identical or similar issue. At other times, the casebook explains and illustrates how the state constitutions contain provisions that have no parallel in the U.S. Constitution. A central theme of the book, explored in the context of a variety of constitutional guarantees, is that state constitutions provide a rich source of rights independent of the federal constitution. Considerable space is devoted to the reasons why a state court might construe the liberty and property rights found in their constitutions, to use two prominent examples, more broadly than comparable rights found in the U.S. Constitution. Among the reasons considered are: differences in the text between the state and federal constitutional provisions, the smaller scope of the state courts'' jurisdiction, state constitutional history, unique state traditions and customs, and disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court''s interpretation of similar language. State constitutional law, like its federal counterpart, is not confined to individual rights. The casebook also explores the organization and structure of state and local governments, the method of choosing state judges, the many executive-branch powers found in state constitutions but not in their federal counterpart, the ease with which most state constitutions can be amended, and other topics, such as taxation, public finance and school funding. The casebook is not parochial. It looks at these issues through the lens of important state court decisions from nearly every one of our 50 States. In that sense, it is designed for a survey course, one that does not purport to cover any one State''s constitution in detail but that considers the kinds of provisions found in many state charters. Like a traditional contracts, real property or torts textbook, the casebook uses the most interesting state court decisions from around the country to illustrate the astonishing array of state constitutional issues at play in American Constitutional Law. It is difficult to overstate the growing significance of state constitutional law. Many of the ground-breaking constitutional debates of the day are being aired in the state courts under their own constitutions--often as a prelude to debates about whether to nationalize this or that right under the National Constitution. To use the most salient example, it is doubtful that there would have been a national right to marriage equality in 2015, see Obergefell v. Hodges, without the establishment of a Massachusetts right to marry in 2003, see Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. In other areas of constitutional litigation--gun rights, capital punishment, property rights, school funding, free exercise claims, to name but a few--state courts often are the key innovators as well, relying on their own constitutions to address individual rights and structural debates of the twenty-first century. The mission of the casebook is to introduce students to this increasingly significant body of American law and to prepare them to practice effectively in it.

A Century of Controversy

A Century of Controversy PDF Author: Bailey Thomson
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817312188
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
State constitutions don't get the attention they deserve. They are important historical documents, and they have considerable influence on state and local government. Alabama's constitution is, according to the scholars and journalists who know it well, one of the longest (more than 315,000 words) and worst.

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 1 PDF Author: Robert F. Williams
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791482456
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Through illuminating case studies of reform efforts in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, New York, and Virginia, this book—the first of three volumes—provides the first systematic analysis of the political obstacles to state constitutional reform. For those seeking constitutional reform, this useful resource can spell the difference between success and failure, and for those interested in state politics or constitutional politics, it offers rare insight into a distinctive aspect of American constitutionalism. Written by eminent scholars who were, in many cases, also active participants in the reform campaign, the essays provide practical experience, expert analysis, and lessons for future constitutional reformers.

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 2

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 2 PDF Author: Frank P. Grad
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791482324
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
Constitutional reform requires not only good ideas but also the ability to translate those ideas into language that will effectuate the drafters' aims. This book—the second of three volumes on state constitutions—is the essential guide for those involved in constitutional reform. It identifies the recurrent problems that reformers face in drafting or amending state constitutions and explores how those problems might be addressed. It also explains why drafting state constitutions is a distinctive enterprise, different from the drafting of other legal documents.