Constitutions, Federal and State: A Research Guide Robin R. Gault Associate Director, Law Library Fall 2007.

Constitutions, Federal and State: A Research Guide

Robin R. Gault

Associate Director, Law Library

Fall 2007

Constitutions

• Constitutions describe the organization and powers of government. They sometimes regulate the acts of nongovernmental persons as well.

• When litigating a constitutional issue involving individual rights, keep in mind that state constitutions as well as federal may be helpful to your case. The relationships between the federal and state constitutions is complex. State constitutions may grant or deny rights as long as they do not violate the federal constitution.

U.S. Constitution• Researching the Federal Constitution:

• The text is widely available, including in Florida Statutes and on the web:

• http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

• http://findlaw.com/casecode/constitution/

• Cornell also has a good topical introduction:• http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Constitutio

nal_law

• The Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress produces a comprehensive research guide, The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (Law Library Reserves KF 4527 .U5).

• This is on the web in PDF from GPO Access:• http://

www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html

U.S. Constitution

• The Cornell Legal Information Institute has most of the same information on the web in the CRS Annotated Constitution with hyperlinks:

• http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/anncon/index.html

Historical Background

• Historical background and documents:

• The Library of Congress:• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

• The National Archives:• http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/

constitution.html

• The Yale Avalon Project:• http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm• This is part of a larger project on international diplomacy.

Amendments

• The process of amending the federal constitution is slow, and as a result, the federal constitution is seldom amended. To find amendments not ratified by the states, see

• http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/html/proamt.html

Supreme Court Decisions

• The meaning of the U.S. Constitution is largely defined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Cornell has good links to Supreme Court decisions on constitutional law:

• http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/conlaw.htm

• The Supreme Court website:• http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Westlaw and Lexis

• The previous sources are free on the Web, but the most useful resources for in-depth research are U.S. Code Annotated (KF 62 W4, also on Westlaw) and U.S. Code Service (KF 62 1972 L38, also on Lexis).

• In their annotated versions of the federal constitution, USCA and USCS contain extensive references to analytical materials and case annotations.

• Because the annotations are so numerous, check the index at the front of the case annotations section to determine which topic you want.

Analytical Sources

• Treatises• Practice materials• Periodicals & Indexes

• Index to Legal Periodicals Full-Text and Retrospective

• LegalTrac

• ALR Federal (KF 105 A54, also on Westlaw)• American Jurisprudence 2d (KF 154 A45) and

CJS (KF 154 C6) (both on Westlaw and Lexis)

Florida Constitution

• Text of the Florida Constitution:• http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=

Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes

• The current constitution, adopted in 1968, is reprinted in Florida Statutes and (with commentary and annotations) in Florida Statutes Annotated (KFF 30 1943 A4, also in Westlaw) and Florida Annotated Statutes (KFF 30 2002 A42, also in Lexis) FSA also has all of Florida’s earlier constitutions.

Historical Background

• Florida has had six constitutions: 1838, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1885, and 1968.

• The Florida State Archives has a good webpage with the texts of the Florida constitutions and some historical background:

• http://www.floridamemory.com/Collections/Constitution/

• Journals of Florida constitutional conventions are in our fiche collection at MIF 7 FL. Florida is also included in the CIS State Constitutional Convention fiche series at MIF 11.

Old and New Constitutions

• Keep in mind when researching that many provisions in the current constitution were carried over with the same or very similar wording from earlier documents. Cases interpreting those earlier constitutions may be relevant today.

• Example:• 1885 Constitution Declaration of Rights § 6: No

preference shall be given by law to any church, sect or mode of worship and no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.

• 1968 Constitution Art. I, Declaration of Rights § 3: ….No revenue of the state of any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.

Constitution Revision

• Fla. Const. Provides for Constitution Revision Commission to consider changes every 20 years.

• Website of 1997-98 Commission:

• http://www.law.fsu.edu/crc/

• The Law Library has documents from 1977-78 Commission in paper.

Amendments

• Amendments can be proposed by the legislature or by citizen groups.

• Division of Elections website on constitutional amendments:

• http://election.dos.state.fl.us/initiatives/proposedConstAmend.shtml

The Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Constitution

• The Florida Supreme Court has the final word in the interpretation of the state constitution.

• Florida Supreme Court website:• http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/index.html• Records and briefs of Fla. Supreme Court decisions:• http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/index.html• Oral arguments online:• http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/

Analytical Sources

• Florida Jur 2d (KFF 65 F55, available on both Westlaw and Lexis) has extensive discussion of the Florida Constitution within the topic “Constitutional Law.”

• There is also a print monograph, one of a series on state constitutions:

• Talbot D’Alemberte, The Florida State Constitution: A Reference Guide (1991). (Law Library KFF 401 1968 .A6 D35 1991)

Other State Constitutions

• Researching Other State Constitutions:

• Check official or annotated state statutes, including on Westlaw and Lexis.

• Cornell’s LII:• http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html

• Findlaw:• http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/index.html

• Historical materials on state constitutions are available at MIF 11.

• The Law Library also has three extensive bibliographies on state constitutions housed in the Micromaterials Room:• State Constitutional Conventions from Independence to the

Completion of the Present Union, 1776-1959: A Bibliography (KF 4529 B76)

• State Constitutional Conventions, Revisions, and Amendments, 1959-1978: An Annotated Bibliography (KF 4529 S74)

• State Constitutional Conventions, Revisions, and Amendments, 1979-1988: An Annotated Bibliography (KF 4529 S74 1979-88)