WV Preamble to State Constitution

[cry_havoc]

Religion is private and does not belong in politics.

[billscamaros]

Originally Posted by mensaguy

I am not a lawyer, let alone a constitutional lawyer, but my understanding is that the 2nd sentence of the 1st paragraph (sometimes called "due process clause") does that.

It says, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The bold part means that WV cannot make laws that change rights granted under the Constitution. (At least that's what I understand from listening to lawyers that do understand these things.)

[BTW, there's nothing about your question that I see as dense. I suspect you have to know a lot about federal case law to understand this well.]

Coincidentally I listened to a speaker in a class today who brought up the 14th Amendment, and discussed it being originated due to the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court.
The states rights issue continues, I guess.

I would argue that the State Constitution preambles may week to lack relevance these days, they were certainly much debated words when incorporated.

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by billscamaros

Coincidentally I listened to a speaker in a class today who brought up the 14th Amendment, and discussed it being originated due to the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court.
The states rights issue continues, I guess.

I would argue that the State Constitution preambles may week to lack relevance these days, they were certainly much debated words when incorporated.

No doubt they were. In addition, we frequently here people say the "Preamble" is irrelevant, just some flowery words used as an "Introduction." That may or may not be true in regards to State Preambles; I just don't know. The Preamble to the United States Constitution, however, IS used as the basis for actions by Congress, specifically the "promote the general welfare" clause.