The New Jersey State Constitution (Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States)

The New Jersey State Constitution is a throughly revised new edition that provides an extensive historical account and constitutional analysis 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 is an essential resource 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. "Each of the American states has its own constitution, which operates in conjunction with the more familiar U.S. Constitution. The state constitutions are the highest form of law within a state, but they are subject to displacement when they come into conflict with the Federal Consti-tution, federal statutes, or even other lesser forms of federal law. For example, even though New Jersey's constitutional provision on recall of government officials purports to include federal leg-islators, it was declared unconstitutional as violating the Federal Constitution's provisions on that subject. Each state has its own constitutional history, which is outlined at the beginning of each volume in this series. State constitutional history can contribute generally to an understanding of a particular state's current constitution, as well as specifically to its judicial interpretation"-- Provided by publisher C O N T E N T S S E R I E S F O R E W O R D F O R E W O R D T O T H E F I R S T E D I T I O N P R E F A C E T O T H E T H I R D E D I T I O N P R E F A C E T O T H E S E C O N D E D I T I O N Opportunity of a Century Speedy Trial Public Trial– Impartial Jury Notice of Charges Confrontation of Witnesses Compulsory Process Right to Counsel Double Jeopardy Bail Excessive Bail Excessive Fines Cruel and Unusual Punishment Article VI, Section IV repealed effective December 7, 1978. B I B L I O G R A P H I C A L E S S A Y New Jersey Colonial Constitutional Antecedents The 1776 Constitution The 1844 Constitution The 1873 Constitutional Commission 1940– 1944 Constitutional Developments The 1947 Constitution New Jersey Constitutional Interpretation T A B L E O F C A S E S I N D E X A B O U T T H E A U T H O R S