Understanding State Constitutions

Understanding State Constitutions PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691188556
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
For many Americans, the word "constitution" means just one thing: the national Constitution. According to a recent survey, almost half do not know that individual states also have constitutions. Scholars have also paid little attention to state constitutions, favoring the apparently more dynamic and significant federal scene. G. Alan Tarr seeks to change that in this landmark book. A leading authority on state legal issues, he combines history, law, and political science to present a thorough and long-needed account of the distinct and important role of state constitutions in American life. Tarr shows that state constitutional politics are dominated by three crucial issues with little salience at the national level: the distribution of power among groups and regions within states, the scope of state and local governmental authority, and the relation of the state to economic activity. He explains how state constitutions differ from the national Constitution in treating not only matters of high principle but also such mundane subjects as ski trails and motor vehicle revenues. He also explores why state constitutions, unlike their federal counterpart, have been so frequently amended and replaced. Tarr concludes that the United States not only has a system of dual constitutionalism but also has dual constitutional cultures. Powerfully argued and meticulously researched, the book fills an important gap in political and legal studies and finally gives state constitutions the scholarly attention they richly deserve.

Understanding State Constitutions

Understanding State Constitutions PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691070660
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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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.

The New York State Constitution, Second Edition

The New York State Constitution, Second Edition PDF Author: Peter J. Galie
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199995982
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This fully updated new edition of The New York State Constitution provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of New York's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography provides an unsurpassed reference guide for students, scholars, and practitioners of New York's constitution. The New York State Constitution provides ready access to material that will help scholars, judges, lawyers, students and the general public to understand the historical background to the New York Constitution, the intent of the framers, and the evolution and current meaning of its provisions. The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

The New Mexico State Constitution

The New Mexico State Constitution PDF Author: Chuck Smith
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Brief constitutional history and analytical commentary of the state constitution for academic, professional, and general readers.

The California State Constitution

The California State Constitution PDF Author: Joseph R. Grodin
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
California's Constitution has been one of the most influential state constitutions historically and has been amended and interpreted in many different ways. This definitive and easy-to-use reference by a former justice of California's Supreme Court and two colleagues at Hastings College of Law should be a standard guide for lawyers, students, scholars, and for the citizenry to use in considering how to vote on ballot questions. The volume opens with an overview of the development of the constitution since the early days and then provides an article-by-article and section-by-section analysis and full text of this body of law under which the state is governed. A selected bibliography, a table of cases, and a full index make this invaluable reference useful to a broad interdisciplinary audience for varied use.

The Washington State Constitution

The Washington State Constitution PDF Author: Robert F. Utter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199300674
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
The Washington State Constitution provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of Washington's constitutional history that focuses on the document's 19th century populist roots, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes made since its initial drafting. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography, provides an unsurpassed reference guide for lawyers, judges, scholars, and members of the general public. The second edition of The Washington State Constitution has been significantly expanded to detail the impact of the late nineteenth century Populist movement on both the structure and content of Washington's 1889 constitution. The book includes current and important developments in the theory of state constitutional interpretation in Washington State, describes the significant expansion, over the past decade, in the Washington Supreme Court's independent reliance on the state's constitution rather than the federal constitution in many constitutional doctrines, particularly those related to individual rights. The title also includes up-to-date analysis of significant developments in a number of areas, including the rights of criminal defendants; personal freedoms of speech, religion and privacy; powers and constraints on the state legislature and the governor; the initiative, referendum and recall; and the application of Washington's unique public education clause. The Washington State Constitution was cited in the following notable cases: - League of Educ. Voters v. State,__Wn.2d___, 295 P.3d 743, 758-59 (2013.) (both majority and dissent) - In re Bond Issuance of Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center Public Facilities, 175 Wash.2d 788,813, 816, 287 P.3d 567, 580 (2012) (dissent) - Bellevue School Dist. v. E.S., 171 Wash.2d 695, 717, 257 P.3d 570, 581 (2011) The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

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.

Looking for Rights in All the Wrong Places

Looking for Rights in All the Wrong Places PDF Author: Emily Zackin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069115578X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Unlike many national constitutions, which contain explicit positive rights to such things as education, a living wage, and a healthful environment, the U.S. Bill of Rights appears to contain only a long list of prohibitions on government. American constitutional rights, we are often told, protect people only from an overbearing government, but give no explicit guarantees of governmental help. Looking for Rights in All the Wrong Places argues that we have fundamentally misunderstood the American rights tradition. The United States actually has a long history of enshrining positive rights in its constitutional law, but these rights have been overlooked simply because they are not in the federal Constitution. Emily Zackin shows how they instead have been included in America's state constitutions, in large part because state governments, not the federal government, have long been primarily responsible for crafting American social policy. Although state constitutions, seemingly mired in trivial detail, can look like pale imitations of their federal counterpart, they have been sites of serious debate, reflect national concerns, and enshrine choices about fundamental values. Zackin looks in depth at the history of education, labor, and environmental reform, explaining why America's activists targeted state constitutions in their struggles for government protection from the hazards of life under capitalism. Shedding much-needed light on the variety of reasons that activists pursued the creation of new state-level rights, Looking for Rights in All the Wrong Places challenges us to rethink our most basic assumptions about the American constitutional tradition.

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 3

State Constitutions for the Twenty-first Century, Volume 3 PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791481980
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This third and final volume in a series devoted to state constitutions analyzes how these documents address major constitutional issues such as the protection of rights; voting and elections; constitutional change; the legislature; the executive; the judiciary; taxing, spending, and borrowing; local government; education; and the environment. Contributors identify the strengths and weaknesses of current state constitutions, highlight the major issues confronting the states, and assess various approaches for reform.

Oregon Blue Book

Oregon Blue Book PDF Author: Oregon. Office of the Secretary of State
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Oregon
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description


The West Virginia State Constitution

The West Virginia State Constitution PDF Author: Robert M. Bastress
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : Constitution
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Constitutional history and analytical commentary for academic, professional, and general readers.