Constitutions, Federal and State: A
Research Guide
Robin R. Gault
Associate Director, Law Library
Fall 2007
Constitutions
• Constitutions describe the organization and
powers of government. They sometimes
regulate the acts of nongovernmental persons
as well.
• When litigating a constitutional issue involving
individual rights, keep in mind that state
constitutions as well as federal may be helpful
to your case. The relationships between the
federal and state constitutions is complex.
State constitutions may grant or deny rights as
long as they do not violate the federal
constitution.
U.S. Constitution
• Researching the Federal Constitution:
• The text is widely available, including in Florida
Statutes and on the web:
• http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.ov
erview.html
• http://findlaw.com/casecode/constitution/
• Cornell also has a good topical introduction:
• http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Constitutio
nal_law
• The Congressional Research Service of the
Library of Congress produces a
comprehensive research guide, The
Constitution of the United States of America:
Analysis and Interpretation (Law Library
Reserves KF 4527 .U5).
• This is on the web in PDF from GPO Access:
• http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.ht
ml
U.S. Constitution
• The Cornell Legal Information Institute
has most of the same information on the
web in the CRS Annotated Constitution
with hyperlinks:
• http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/anncon/in
dex.html
Historical Background
• Historical background and documents:
• The Library of Congress:
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
• The National Archives:
• http://www.archives.gov/national-archivesexperience/charters/constitution.html
• The Yale Avalon Project:
• http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm
• This is part of a larger project on international diplomacy.
Amendments
• The process of amending the federal
constitution is slow, and as a result, the
federal constitution is seldom amended.
To find amendments not ratified by the
states, see
• http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/ht
ml/proamt.html
Supreme Court Decisions
• The meaning of the U.S. Constitution is largely defined
by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Cornell has good links to Supreme Court decisions on
constitutional law:
• http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/conlaw.htm
• The Supreme Court website:
• http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
Westlaw and Lexis
• The previous sources are free on the Web, but the most
useful resources for in-depth research are U.S. Code
Annotated (KF 62 W4, also on Westlaw) and U.S. Code
Service (KF 62 1972 L38, also on Lexis).
• In their annotated versions of the federal constitution,
USCA and USCS contain extensive references to
analytical materials and case annotations.
• Because the annotations are so numerous, check the
index at the front of the case annotations section to
determine which topic you want.
Analytical Sources
• Treatises
• Practice materials
• Periodicals & Indexes
• Index to Legal Periodicals Full-Text and
Retrospective
• LegalTrac
• ALR Federal (KF 105 A54, also on Westlaw)
• American Jurisprudence 2d (KF 154 A45) and
CJS (KF 154 C6) (both on Westlaw and Lexis)
Florida Constitution
• Text of the Florida Constitution:
• http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Co
nstitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes
• The current constitution, adopted in 1968, is reprinted
in Florida Statutes and (with commentary and
annotations) in Florida Statutes Annotated (KFF 30
1943 A4, also in Westlaw) and Florida Annotated
Statutes (KFF 30 2002 A42, also in Lexis) FSA also
has all of Florida’s earlier constitutions.
Historical Background
• Florida has had six constitutions: 1838, 1861, 1865,
1868, 1885, and 1968.
• The Florida State Archives has a good webpage with
the texts of the Florida constitutions and some
historical background:
• http://www.floridamemory.com/Collections/Constitution/
• Journals of Florida constitutional conventions are in our
fiche collection at MIF 7 FL. Florida is also included in
the CIS State Constitutional Convention fiche series at
MIF 11.
Old and New Constitutions
• Keep in mind when researching that
many provisions in the current
constitution were carried over with the
same or very similar wording from earlier
documents. Cases interpreting those
earlier constitutions may be relevant
today.
• Example:
• 1885 Constitution Declaration of Rights § 6: No
preference shall be given by law to any church, sect or
mode of worship and no money shall ever be taken
from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of
any church, sect or religious denomination or in aid of
any sectarian institution.
• 1968 Constitution Art. I, Declaration of Rights § 3:
….No revenue of the state of any political subdivision
or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public
treasury in aid of any church, sect, or religious
denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.
Constitution Revision
• Fla. Const. Provides for Constitution
Revision Commission to consider
changes every 20 years.
• Website of 1997-98 Commission:
• http://www.law.fsu.edu/crc/
• The Law Library has documents from
1977-78 Commission in paper.
Amendments
• Amendments can be proposed by the
legislature or by citizen groups.
• Division of Elections website on
constitutional amendments:
• http://election.dos.state.fl.us/initiatives/pr
oposedConstAmend.shtml
The Florida Supreme Court
and the Florida Constitution
• The Florida Supreme Court has the final word in the
interpretation of the state constitution.
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Florida Supreme Court website:
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/index.html
Records and briefs of Fla. Supreme Court decisions:
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/index.html
Oral arguments online:
http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/
Analytical Sources
• Florida Jur 2d (KFF 65 F55, available on both
Westlaw and Lexis) has extensive discussion
of the Florida Constitution within the topic
“Constitutional Law.”
• There is also a print monograph, one of a
series on state constitutions:
• Talbot D’Alemberte, The Florida State
Constitution: A Reference Guide (1991). (Law
Library KFF 401 1968 .A6 D35 1991)
Other State Constitutions
• Researching Other State Constitutions:
• Check official or annotated state statutes,
including on Westlaw and Lexis.
• Cornell’s LII:
• http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html
• Findlaw:
• http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/index.html
• Historical materials on state constitutions are available
at MIF 11.
• The Law Library also has three extensive
bibliographies on state constitutions housed in the
Micromaterials Room:
• State Constitutional Conventions from Independence to the
Completion of the Present Union, 1776-1959: A Bibliography
(KF 4529 B76)
• State Constitutional Conventions, Revisions, and
Amendments, 1959-1978: An Annotated Bibliography (KF
4529 S74)
• State Constitutional Conventions, Revisions, and
Amendments, 1979-1988: An Annotated Bibliography (KF
4529 S74 1979-88)