Utah Constitution
Encyclopedia
The Constitution of the State of Utah is the state constitution
of Utah
. It defines the basic form and operation of state government
.
was later approved by the citizens of Utah
.
Utahns had drafted seven previous constitutions starting in 1849 as part of repeated attempts to become a state. However, Congress refused to admit Utah (or Deseret
, as the territory originally wanted to be called), until the Mormon
settlers of Utah renounced polygamy
.
embarked upon a short-lived venture during which the court interpreted Article I, § 12 of the Utah Constitution as providing greater protection against self-incrimination than that which is provided by the Fifth Amendment
. The Hansen decision was based upon the unique language of Article I, § 12, which speaks in terms being compelled "to give evidence against [one]self" rather than being compelled "to be a witness against [one]self." A mere five years later the court retreated from this position and in American Fork City v. Crosgrove, 701 P.2d 1069 (Utah 1985), overruled Hansen. This, however, did not put an end to the notion that the Utah Constitution may provide greater protection than does the federal Bill of Rights
.
It is now clear that Article I, § 14 of the Utah Constitution provides greater protection to the privacy of the home and automobiles than does the Fourth Amendment
. Interestingly, the expansion of the protection afforded by the state constitution has not been based upon distinctions in the language used, nor has it been the result of Utah’s unique political and religious history. The Utah Supreme Court has embraced broader constructions as “an appropriate method for insulating this state’s citizens from the vagaries of inconsistent interpretations given to the fourth amendment by the federal courts.”
The Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly invited litigants to raise and adequately brief state constitutional issues. In Brigham City v. Stuart, 2005 UT 13, ¶10, 122 P. 3d 506, 510, the Utah Supreme Court expressed “surpris[e]” in “[t]he reluctance of litigants to take up and develop a state constitutional analysis,” ibid., the court expressly invited future litigants to bring challenges under the Utah Constitution to enable it to fulfill its “responsibility as guardians of the individual liberty of our citizens” and “undertak[e] a principled exploration of the interplay between federal and state protections of individual rights,” id., at 511.
State constitution (United States)
In the United States, each state has its own constitution.Usually, they are longer than the 7,500-word federal Constitution and are more detailed regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and the people. The shortest is the Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1793 and currently...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It defines the basic form and operation of state government
State governments of the United States
State governments in the United States are those republics formed by citizens in the jurisdiction thereof as provided by the United States Constitution; with the original 13 States forming the first Articles of Confederation, and later the aforementioned Constitution. Within the U.S...
.
History
The Utah Constitution was drafted at a convention that opened on March 4, 1895 in Salt Lake City. The constitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
was later approved by the citizens of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Utahns had drafted seven previous constitutions starting in 1849 as part of repeated attempts to become a state. However, Congress refused to admit Utah (or Deseret
State of Deseret
The State of Deseret was a proposed state of the United States, propositioned in 1849 by Latter-day Saint settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government...
, as the territory originally wanted to be called), until the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
settlers of Utah renounced polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
Rights enshrined in the Utah Constitution
Beginning with Hansen v. Owens, 619 P.2d 315 (Utah 1980), the Utah Supreme CourtUtah Supreme Court
The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, USA. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, and three justices. All justices are appointed by the governor...
embarked upon a short-lived venture during which the court interpreted Article I, § 12 of the Utah Constitution as providing greater protection against self-incrimination than that which is provided by the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
. The Hansen decision was based upon the unique language of Article I, § 12, which speaks in terms being compelled "to give evidence against [one]self" rather than being compelled "to be a witness against [one]self." A mere five years later the court retreated from this position and in American Fork City v. Crosgrove, 701 P.2d 1069 (Utah 1985), overruled Hansen. This, however, did not put an end to the notion that the Utah Constitution may provide greater protection than does the federal Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
.
It is now clear that Article I, § 14 of the Utah Constitution provides greater protection to the privacy of the home and automobiles than does the Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
. Interestingly, the expansion of the protection afforded by the state constitution has not been based upon distinctions in the language used, nor has it been the result of Utah’s unique political and religious history. The Utah Supreme Court has embraced broader constructions as “an appropriate method for insulating this state’s citizens from the vagaries of inconsistent interpretations given to the fourth amendment by the federal courts.”
The Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly invited litigants to raise and adequately brief state constitutional issues. In Brigham City v. Stuart, 2005 UT 13, ¶10, 122 P. 3d 506, 510, the Utah Supreme Court expressed “surpris[e]” in “[t]he reluctance of litigants to take up and develop a state constitutional analysis,” ibid., the court expressly invited future litigants to bring challenges under the Utah Constitution to enable it to fulfill its “responsibility as guardians of the individual liberty of our citizens” and “undertak[e] a principled exploration of the interplay between federal and state protections of individual rights,” id., at 511.
Unusual provisions
The original and current editions of the constitution have some unusual or unique provisions:- Originally, a juryJuryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
was to be eight people at most (unless for a trial of a person charged with a capital crimeCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
and seven for a grand juryGrand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
, and four for inferior courts. - Spousal privilegeSpousal privilegeIn the law of the United States, the spousal privilege comprises two separate privileges, the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege....
is protected by the constitution - Voting machineVoting machineVoting machines are the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment , that is used to define ballots; to cast and count votes; to report or display election results; and to maintain and produce any audit trail information...
s (referred to as "mechanical contrivance[s]") are allowed provided they be secretSecret ballotThe secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. - Women's suffrageWomen's suffrageWomen's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and equality is guaranteed in all matters.
- An ordinance was added which required the consent of the United States (presumably of CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
), as well as the state, to revoke or alter parts of the constitution. In part:- Besides the normal (And previously stated) freedom of religion, polygamyPolygamyPolygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and "plural marriages" are "forever prohibited". - Public schooling is required and must be "free from sectarian control" - this is stated twice, once in the Ordinance, and once in Article X ("Education").
- Besides the normal (And previously stated) freedom of religion, polygamy
- LotteriesLotteryA lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
under any form are banned (despite the fact that one is needed to select the senatorial classes after the first election) - Once an impeachable official is served a notice of their impeachment, they automatically lose their powers of office until acquitted.
- A two-thirds supermajoritySupermajorityA supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
is required to specify the enactmentComing into forceComing into force or entry into force refers to the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect...
of an act at a time other than the default. - The Governor may call the both chambers of the Utah Legislature, or only the Utah State SenateUtah State SenateThe Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of constituent senatorial districts. Each senatorial district is composed of approximately 91,000 people...
, into extraordinary sessionSpecial sessionIn a legislature, a special session is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...
, but not the House of Representatives alone. - The Governor, Attorney General, and the Auditor comprise the Board of Prison Commissioners and Insane Asylum Commissioners, and with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Board of Reform School Commissioners.
- No Judge can appoint a relative closerConsanguinityConsanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
than a cousinCousinIn kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
to his court. - A judge out of state for more than 90 days running automatically loses his bench.
- An agricultural college must be supported by the state
- The Legislature and State Board of Education are forbidden from selecting the textbookTextbookA textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
s to be used. - The schools of the state must teach the metric systemMetric systemThe metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
, Article X § 11 (repealed http://beta.law.utah.edu/faculty/bios/greenwoodd/pdf/UtahConst.pdf). - Corporations running prior to the adoption of the constitution had to explicitly agree (by filing an affidavitAffidavitAn affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
with the Utah Secretary of StateLieutenant Governor of UtahThe Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Utah was created in 1975. There have only been seven Lieutenant Governors in Utah's history. Prior to the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's office, the succession to the Governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary of State...
) to the new constitution. - No one may bring an "armed ... bod[y] of men" into the state without approval.
- Labor blacklistBlacklistA blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ing is explicitly outlawed. - Women are prohibited from working in mineMiningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s - Prison labor is prohibited outside of the prison, unless for public worksPublic worksPublic works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
projects - Blacklists and their exchange is prohibited
- When working on public works, eight hours is a full day.
- Forests of the state get a one section article (XVIII) requiring they be preserved.
- Besides the state capitol, the location of the state fairState fairA state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
, special schools, state prison, reform school, and insane asylum are explicitly set down, and "permanently located". - When voting for or against the draft constitution, voters were to be given a ballot with both "yes" and "no". They then had to erase the word they disagreed with (EG. Erase "no" to vote "yes").
See also
- Parley Parker Christensen, Utah and California politician, Secretary of the convention.