The Law of American State Constitutions

Second Edition

Robert F. Williams and Lawrence Friedman

• Provides a comprehensive survey of all aspects of state constitutional law
• Offers an accessible general introduction to state constitutional law

New to this Edition:

• Includes a new section considering the issue of same-sex marriage in the context of state constitutional law
• Considers the future of state constitutional individual rights interpretation and the importance of state constitutional amendment in light of U.S. Supreme Court developments.

Table of Contents

Introduction
I - State Constitutions in American Constitutional Federalism
Chapter 1. The Other American Constitutions
Chapter 2. The Pre-Federal “State” Constitutions: The Founding Decade
Chapter 3. The Evolving American State Constitutions
Chapter 4. Federal Limits on State Constitutions
II - Rights Guarantees under State Constitutions: The New Judicial Federalism
Chapter 5. The New Judicial Federalism
Chapter 6. Methodology in State Constitutional Rights Interpretation
Chapter 7. Lockstepping State Constitutional Rights with Federal Constitutional Law
III - Structure of State Government
Chapter 8. State Constitutional Distribution of Powers
Chapter 9. The State Legislative Branch
Chapter 10. The State Judicial Branch
Chapter 11. The State Executive Branch
IV - Unique Interpretation Issues in State Constitutional Law
Chapter 12. Interpreting State Constitutions
V - State Constitutional Amendment and Revision
Chapter 13. Amending and Revising State Constitutions
Chapter 14. Judicial Involvement in State Constitutional Amendment and Revision
Bibliographical Essay
Index