A 32-page student worktext designed for the study of the Illinois state constitution and government. Used by schools across the state to meet the required study of the Illinois Constitution.

The New Jersey State Constitution is a completely revised new edition that provide an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of New Jersey'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 Jersey's constitution. State constitutions perform different functions and contain different provisions from the more-familiar U.S. Constitution. The book first outlines the historical development of New Jersey's state constitution from 1776 to the present and explains the highlights of the process of state constitutional development, leading to the current New Jersey constitution. Next, each section of the current constitution is analyzed, including its origins, general intent and purpose, and important judicial interpretations illustrating the types of situations in which the section can come into play, including references to key academic analysis of each section. Careful explanation is provided, with illustrations from cases, of the complex and evolving relationship between rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and rights guaranteed by the New Jersey constitution. In many instances, New Jersey's rights can be more protective than those included in the Federal Constitution. Finally, the book provides a thorough bibliographical essay reviewing the evolution of the New Jersey constitution. 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.

A landmark work of more than one hundred scholars, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution is a unique line-by-line analysis explaining every clause of America's founding charter and its contemporary meaning. In this fully revised second edition, leading scholars in law, history, and public policy offer more than two hundred updated and incisive essays on every clause of the Constitution. From the stirring words of the Preamble to the Twenty-seventh Amendment, you will gain new insights into the ideas that made America, important debates that continue from our Founding, and the Constitution's true meaning for our nation

Expertly guides readers through the Constitution and its twenty-seven amendments

The Constitution of the United States created a representative republic marked by federalism and the separation of powers. Yet numerous federal judges--led by the Supreme Court--have used the Constitution as a blank check to substitute their own views on hot-button issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and samesex marriage for perfectly constitutional laws enacted by We the People through our elected representatives. Now, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution shows that there is very little relationship between the Constitution as ratified by the thirteen original states more than two centuries ago and the "constitutional law" imposed upon us since then. Instead of the system of state-level decision makers and elected officials the Constitution was intended to create, judges have given us a highly centralized system in which bureaucrats and appointed--not elected--officials make most of the important policies. InThe Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution,Professor Kevin Gutzman explains how the Constitution: Was understood by the founders who wrote it and the people who ratified it. Follows the Supreme Court as it uses the fig leaf of the Constitution to cover its naked usurpation of the rights and powers the Constitution explicitly reserves to the states and to the people. Slid from the Constitution's republican federal government, with its very limited powers, to an unrepublican "judgeocracy" with limitless powers. How the Fourteenth Amendment has been twisted to use the Bill of Rights as a check on state power instead of on federal power, as originally intended. The radical inconsistency between "constitutional law" and the rule of law. Contends that the judges who receive the most attention in history books are celebrated for acting against the Constitution rather than for it. As Professor Gutzman shows, constitutional law is supposed to apply the Constitution's plain meaning to prevent judges, presidents, and congresses from overstepping their authority. If we want to return to the founding fathers' vision of the Republic, if we want the Constitution enforced in the way it was explained to the people at the time of its ratification, then we have to overcome the "received wisdom" about what constitutional law is. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution is an important step in that direction.

North Carolina's state constitution charts the evolution over two centuries of a modern representative democracy. In The North Carolina State Constitution, John V. Orth and Paul M. Newby provide an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of North Carolina'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 North Carolina's constitution. Co-authored by Paul M. Newby, a sitting justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, the second edition includes significant constitutional amendments adopted since the date of the first edition. Almost every article was affected by the changes. Some were minor-such as the lengthening the term of magistrates-and some were more significant, such as spelling out the rights of victims of crimes. One was obviously major: granting the governor the power to veto legislation-making North Carolina's governor the last American governor to be given that power. In addition, the North Carolina Supreme Court has continued the seemingly never-ending process of constitutional interpretation. Some judicial decisions answered fairly routine questions about the powers of office, such as the governor's clemency power. Others were politically contentious, such as deciding the constitutional constraints on legislative redistricting. And one continues to have momentous consequences for public education, recognizing the state's constitutional duty to provide every school child in North Carolina with a "sound, basic education." 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.