The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution", implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment of constitution. A Basic Law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law given to have constitution powers and effect. The name is usually for the U.S. state A U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of commonwealth rather than state. State citizenship is of Maryland Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 350 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the third-largest nexus in this field in the United States. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fourth constitution under which the state has been governed. It was last amended in 2008. [1]

At approximately 47,000 words (including annotations), the Maryland Constitution is much longer than the average length of a state constitution In the United States, each state has its own constitution in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, which is about 26,000 words (the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the is about 8,700 words long).

Contents

Background, drafting, and ratification

The state's 1864 constitution, written during the Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast while the Unionists temporarily controlled Maryland, proved to be unsuitable in a state that still had a lot of Southern sympathies. That document, which was approved by a bare majority (50.31%) of the state's eligible voters, was designed to disenfranchise the approximately 25,000 Marylanders who fought for the Confederacy The Confederate States of America was the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S. The CSA's de facto control over its claimed territory varied during the course of the American Civil War, depending on the success of its military in battle or in other ways supported it. Also, while emancipating In Western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. The slave system aroused little protest until the 17th century[citation needed] when Quaker and evangelical religious groups condemned it as un-Christian and the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for the state's slaves Slavery is a system in which people are the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand wages. In some societies it was legal for an owner to kill a slave. In others it was a crime to kill a slave, the 1864 constitution changed the basis of representation in the General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. The General Assembly meets each year for 90 days to act on more than 2300 bills including to help keep power in the hands of the white elite.

The Constitution of 1867 was drafted by a convention which met at the state capital, Annapolis Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It has a population of 36,524 , and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 26 miles (42 km) south of Baltimore and about 29 miles (47 km) east of Washington D.C. Annapolis is part of the Baltimore-Washington, between May 8 and August 17, 1867. It was submitted to the people of the state for ratification on September 18 and was approved by a vote of 27,152 to 23,036. It took effect on 5 October 1867.

Declaration of Rights

The Maryland Constitution begins with a Declaration of Rights, which is similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights In the United States of America, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the but, like most state bills of rights, is broader than the federal version. Among other things, the Maryland Constitution guarantees trial by jury A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions, due process Due process is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law. Due process holds the government subservient to the law of the land, protecting individual persons from the state, freedom of the press Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. While such freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections and of religion Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion. Freedom of religion is considered by many. It also forbids, among other things, the passage of ex post facto laws An ex post facto law or retroactive law, is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law. In reference to criminal law, it may criminalize actions that were legal when committed; or it may aggravate a crime by bringing it into a more severe and cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person. Notably, juries in criminal cases are declared to be judges of law as well as fact, thus ensconcing in the constitution the right of (what is commonly called) jury nullification Jury nullification occurs when a jury reaches a verdict contrary to the weight of evidence. Widely, it is any rendering of a verdict by a trial jury contrary to the letter of the law—that is, of an official rule, and especially a legislative enactment. Jury nullification need not disagree with the instructions by the judge—which concern what -- commonplace in the early 19th century, but by 1867 already in decline as a result of abuse (in such conflicts as the Mormons in Nauvoo and the Fugitive Slave Law), and today very much the minority position.

While the Declaration of Rights does say that "a well regulated Militia The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with multiple distinct but related meanings. Legal and is the proper and natural defence of a free Government," it does not guarantee a right to bear arms The right to keep and bear arms, often referred as the right to bear arms or the right to have arms, is the assertion that people have a personal right to "weapon" for individual use, or a collective right to bear arms in a militia, or both. In this context, "arms" refers to a variety of weapons and armor and to "bear arms&. This makes the Maryland Constitution one of the very few state constitutions that lacks the equivalent of the federal Second Amendment The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects a right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. The American Bar Association has observed that there is more disagreement and less understanding about.

There is also a rather striking effort to limit the guarantee against religious disabilities to those who believe in God and divine rewards and punishments. Article 36 includes the wording

"nor shall any person, otherwise competent, be deemed incompetent as a witness, or juror, on account of his religious belief; provided, he believes in the existence of God, and that under His dispensation such person will be held morally accountable for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefor either in this world or in the world to come."

A unanimous 1961 decision by US Supreme court in the case of Torcaso v. Watkins found that an attempt to enforce this provision violated the First The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble and Fourteenth The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted after the Civil War as one of the Reconstruction Amendments on July 9, 1868 Amendments to the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the. In 1970, this article was amended to include the sentence "Nothing in this article shall constitute an establishment of religion". However the original wording of the article was also left in place, but presumably is symbolic rather than effective.

Maryland's Constitution also makes explicit the separation of powers The separation of powers, also known as trias politica,is a model for the governance of democratic states. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the uncodified Constitution of the Roman Republic. Under this model, the state is divided into branches, each with separate and doctrine which is only implied in the federal constitution. The Maryland Constitution clearly states that "the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of Government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other; and no person exercising the functions of one of said Departments shall assume or discharge the duties of any other."

Amendments

Amendment process

Amendments A constitutional amendment is a change to the constitution of a nation or a state. In jurisdictions with "rigid" or "entrenched" constitutions, amendments require a special procedure different from that used for enacting ordinary laws to the constitution are proposed by the state legislature The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. The General Assembly meets each year for 90 days to act on more than 2300 bills including with a three-fifths vote in both chambers. Amendments must then be ratified by a simple majority of the people voting on the question in a referendum A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy. The measure put to a vote is held simultaneously with the next general election In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections. Unlike the federal constitution The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the, when the Maryland Constitution is amended the official text of the document is edited, removing language that is no longer in force. However, most printed versions of the constitution include annotations which indicate which portions were amended or removed and at what times.

A provision in the document requires that every 20 years the people of the state be asked if a state constitutional convention A constitutional convention is a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution. An unlimited constitutional convention is called to revise an existing should be convened. Such a convention is called if a majority of the voters request it. This question will next appear on the ballot in 2010.

Notable amendments

While the average state constitution has been amended approximately 115 times, as of 2004[update], the Maryland Constitution has been amended almost 200 times, most recently in 2008. In 1972 an amendment created the current legislative districting system that the state's General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives. The General Assembly meets each year for 90 days to act on more than 2300 bills including follows and in 1970 an amendment that created the position of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland The Lieutenant Governor of Maryland is the second highest ranking official in the executive branch of the state government of Maryland in the United States. He or she is elected on the same ticket as the Governor of Maryland and must meet the same qualifications was approved.

More infamously, in 1910 the Digges Amendment, which would have used property requirements to effectively disenfranchise many African Americans African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry, was proposed. However, it was rejected by the people at the general election.

2008 Amendments

Two amendments are on the 2008 Maryland State Ballot [2]. Question 1 is for an amendment to allow early voting. Question 2 is for a very controversial amendment to issue licenses for video lottery terminals (Slot Machines A slot machine , fruit machine (British English), poker machine (Australian English) or simply slot (American English) is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed. Slot machines are also known as one-armed bandits because slot machines were originally operated by a lever on the side of the machine (the). The opponents of question 1 contend that early voting will lead to voter fraud, since Maryland is one of the few states that does not require identification to either register to vote or to vote. A campaign against Question 2 ran television commercials in the days before Election Day telling viewers to vote "No" on Question 2. This amendment is the latest step in a long battle over whether to have slot machines in the State of Maryland and, if so, where they should be located and how the revenue should be allocated. Both amendments were approved, with 72.1% of Maryland voters who voted on the proposed amendments voting "Yes" on Question 1, and 58.7% voting "Yes" on the more controversial Question 2 [3] [4].

See also

Constitutions of the U.S. States In the United States, each state has its own constitution and Territories
States A U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of commonwealth rather than state. State citizenship is Alabama The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had · Alaska · Arizona The Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the U.S. state of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona · Arkansas The Constitution of the State of Arkansas is the governing document of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It was adopted in 1874, shortly after the Brooks-Baxter War replacing the 1868 constitution that had allowed Arkansas to rejoin the Union after the conclusion of the American Civil War; the new constitution and the Brooks-Baxter war marked the end of · California The Constitution of the State of California is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which was · Colorado The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. State of Colorado. The current, and only, Colorado State Constitution was drafted 1876-03-14, approved by Colorado voters 1876-07-01, and took effect upon the statehood of Colorado on 1876-08-01. From 1876 through 2007, the Colorado Constitution has · Connecticut The Constitution of the State of Connecticut is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was approved by referendum on December 14, 1965 and proclaimed by the governor as adopted on December 30. It is the second constitution that the state has had . It consists of 14 articles, and has been amended 31 times · Delaware The Constitution of the State of Delaware of 1897 is the fourth and current governing document for Delaware state government and has been in effect since its adoption on June 4, 1897 · Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state · Georgia The Constitution of the State of Georgia is the governing document of the U.S. state of Georgia. The constitution outlines the three branches of government in Georgia. The legislative branch is embodied in the bicameral General Assembly. The executive branch is headed by the Governor. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court. Besides · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Territories American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States Virgin Islands

References

External links

Categories: 1867 in law | Government of Maryland | Maryland law | State constitutions of the United States

 

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