By state law, graduates of public colleges and universities in Georgia must demonstrate proficiency with both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. This widely used textbook helps students satisfy that requirement, either in courses or by examination. This brief and affordable study aid begins with a discussion of the ways that state and local governments, in providing services and allocating funds, affect our daily lives. Subsequent chapters are devoted to - the development of our federal system and the importance of constitutions in establishing authority, distributing power, and formalizing procedures - how the various state constitutions differ from each other, even as they all complement the U.S. Constitution - how constitutions in Georgia have been amended or replaced - Georgia’s governmental institutions at the state, county, and city levels - elections in Georgia, including the basic ground rules for holding primaries, general elections, and runoffs Key terms and concepts are covered throughout the book, as well as important court cases at the national and state level. In addition, helpful lists, diagrams, and tables summarize and compare such information as: - the structure of Georgia’s court system - the number of constitutions each of the fifty states has had, the number of times each state’s constitution has - been amended, and the length of each state’s current constitution - various procedures used by the states to amend their constitutions - Georgia’s ten constitutions, with highlights of their major changes or features - the number of amendments voted on in Georgia from 1984 to 2012 - the executive branch officials elected by the public across states - the constitutional boards and commissions in Georgia, with details on the methods by which members are chosen - the number and types of local governments in Georgia since 1952, including counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts - the major federal cases in which Georgia has been a party, on issues of discrimination, representation, freedom of speech and the press, the accused or convicted of crimes, and the right to privacy - rights and liberties, and how constitutions guarantee and protect them

In The Georgia State Constitution, Melvin Hill Jr. offers a detailed description of the creation and development of Georgia's constitution. He explains how political and cultural events, from colonial times, through the Civil War, to the present, have affected Georgia's constitutional law. Accompanying the full text of the constitution is Hill's rich commentary of the constitutional provisions. He traces their origins and interpretation by the courts and other governmental bodies. This volume also provides a bibliographical essay which features the most important sources of Georgia's constitutional history and constitutional law. Previously published by Greenwood, this title has been brought back in to circulation by Oxford University Press with new verve. Re-printed with standardization of content organization in order to facilitate research across the series, this title, as with all titles in the series, is set to join the dynamic revision cycle of The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States. 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.

Georgia Legal Research is the first book of its kind devoted to the resources and strategies needed to research Georgia state law. Taking a process-oriented approach, the book explains research in Georgia cases, statutes, legislative history, constitutional law, and administrative law and legal ethics research. Additional chapters describe the research process, secondary sources and practical guides, online research and citators. Appendices include legal citation rules, bibliography of legal research texts, and a list of Georgia practice materials. Georgia Legal Research was designed specifically for teaching legal research to first-year law students. Others who will find it helpful include practitioners, paralegals, librarians, college students, and even laypeople. It is clearly written, making even complex ideas accessible. Outlines of the research process and short excerpts from Georgia resources make the book easy to use. Web addresses point researchers to the many sources for finding free Georgia legal material online. Concise explanations of resources needed for researching federal law and the law of other states are provided throughout. Thus, Georgia Legal Research can be used as a stand-alone text or in conjunction with a research text concentrating on federal law. This book is part of the Legal Research Series, edited by Suzanne E. Rowe, Director of Legal Research and Writing, University of Oregon School of Law.

Reprint of the sole edition. A model study of its kind and a valuable contribution to the constitutional history of the state of Georgia, this work is divided into three parts. The first is a constitutional history of Georgia. Arranged chronologically, the second is an anthology of source texts including all of the state constitutions to 1868 (including amendments). The third is a digest of Georgia decisions relating the 1868 constitution in the form of annotations to its text, with additional historical notes to several sections. McElreath [1867-1951] was a member of the Atlanta Bar. " conscientious and capable piece of work.": The Green Bag 24 (1912) 360.

This collection of fifty-nine primary documents presents multiple viewpoints on more than four centuries of growth, conflict, and change in Georgia. The selections range from a captive's account of a 1597 Indian revolt against Spanish missionaries on the Georgia coast to an impassioned debate in 1992 between county commissioners and environmental activists over a proposed hazardous waste facility in Taylor County. Drawn from such sources as government records, newspapers, oral histories, personal diaries, and letters, the documents give a voice to the concerns and experiences of men and women representing the diverse races, ethnic groups, and classes that, over time, have contributed to the state's history. Cornerstones of Georgia History is especially suited for classroom use, but it provides any concerned citizen of the state with a historical basis on which to form relevant and independent opinions about Georgia's present-day challenges.

Discusses the history of capital punishment, explains the United States Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia, and explores the impact of this case.