CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. STATE OF NEW JERSEY. A CONSTITUTION agreed upon by the delegates of the people of New WE, the people of the state of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty Preamble. God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this constitution : ARTICLE I. RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain Natural natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and rights. defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is in- Political stituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they powers. have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it. 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of wor- Rights of shipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor under any pretence whatever be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his faith and judgment; nor shall any person be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing any church or churches, place or places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or has deliberately and voluntarily engaged to perform. ment or test. 4. There shall be no establishment of one religious sect, in prefer- No religious ence to another; no religious test shall be required as a qualification establishfor any office or public trust; and no person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right, merely on account of his religious principles. 5. Every person may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments Liberty of on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law speech and shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be of the press. Libels. given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. Persons and 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the papers and things to be seized. property secured. Trial by jury. Rights of cused. 7. The right of a trial by jury shall remain inviolate: but the legislature may authorize the trial of civil suits, when the matter in dispute does not exceed fifty dollars, by a jury of six men. 8. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right to a persons ac speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence. How to be charged. Acquittal. Habeas cor pus. Military subordinate. Quartering. Treason. 9. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or navy or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger. 10. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the same offence. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident or presumption great. 11. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 12. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner: nor in time of war, except in a manner prescribed by law. 14. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 15. Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted. 16. Private property shall not be taken for public use, without just Public use. compensation; but land may be taken for public highways, as heretofore, until the legislature shall direct compensation to be made. Bail, fines, punishments. Private property for Imprisonment for debt. Right of petition. Saving clause. Right of suffrage. Proviso. 17. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any action, or on any judgment founded upon contract, unless in cases of fraud; nor shall any person be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. 18. The people have the right freely to assemble together, to consult for the common good, to make known their opinions to their representatives, and to petition for redress of grievances. 19. This enumeration of rights and privileges shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of this state one year, and of the county in which he claims his vote five months, next before the election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be elective by the people: Provided, that no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States shall be considered a resident in this state, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval place or station within this state; and no pauper, idiot, insane person, or person convicted of a crime which now excludes him from being a witness unless pardoned or restored by law to the right of suffrage, shall enjoy the right of an elector. 2. The legislature may pass laws to deprive persons of the right of Bribery. suffrage who shall be convicted of bribery at elections. ARTICLE III. DISTRIBUTION OF THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT. ments of government. 1. The powers of the government shall be divided into three distinct Departdepartments the legislative, executive, and judicial; and no person or persons belonging to, or constituting one of these departments, shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except as herein expressly provided. ARTICLE IV. LEGISLATIVE. Section I. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and general Legislature. assembly. tions of members. 2. No person shall be a member of the senate who shall not have Qualificaattained the age of thirty years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the state for four years, and of the county for which he shall be chosen one year, next before his election; and no person shall be a member of the general assembly who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the state for two years, and of the county for which he shall be chosen one year next before his election: Provided, that no person shall be eligible as Proviso. a member of either house of the legislature, who shall not be entitled to the right of suffrage. 3. Members of the senate and general assembly shall be elected Election. yearly and every year, on the second Tuesday of October; and the two houses shall meet separately on the second Tuesday in January Meeting. next after the said day of election, at which time of meeting, the legislative year shall commence; but the time of holding such election may be altered by the legislature. Section II. 1. The senate shall be composed of one senator from each county in of senators. the state, elected by the legal voters of the counties, respectively, for three years. classed. 2. As soon as the senate shall meet after the first election to be held in To be of this constitution, they shall be divided as equally as may pursuance be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year; of the second class at the expiration of the second year; and of the third class at the expiration of the third year, so that one class may be elected every year and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, the persons elected to supply such vacancies shall be elected for the unexpired terms only. Section III. 1. The general assembly shall be composed of members annually Assembly. elected by the legal voters of the counties, respectively, who shall be apportioned among the said counties as nearly as may be according to ment. Apportion the number of their inhabitants. The present apportionment shall continue until the next census of the United States shall have been taken, and an apportionment of members of the general assembly shall be made by the legislature, at its first session after the next and every subsequent enumeration or census, and when made shall remain unaltered until another enumeration shall have been taken: Provided, that each county shall at all times be entitled to one member: and the whole number of members shall never exceed sixty. Proviso. Supplying vacancies. Judge of elections, etc. Quorum. Officers, Section IV. 1. Each house shall direct writs of election for supplying vacancies, occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise; but if vacancies occur during the recess of the legislature, the writs may be issued by the governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 2. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide. 3. Each house shall choose its own officers, determine the rules of its rules, order. proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, may expel a member. Journals. Adjourn ments. Of passing bills, &c. Compensation. Mileage. Privilege. Appoint meut to office. 4. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 5. Neither house, during the session of the legislature, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 6. All bills and joint resolutions shall be read three times in each house, before the final passage thereof; and no bill or joint resolution shall pass, unless there be a majority of all the members of each body personally present and agreeing thereto; and the yeas and nays of the members voting on such final passage shall be entered on the journal. 7. Members of the senate and general assembly shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the state; which compensation shall not exceed the sum of three dollars per day for the period of forty days from the commencement of the session; and shall not exceed the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day for the remainder of the session. When convened in extra session by the governor, they shall receive such sum as shall be fixed for the first forty days of the ordinary session. They shall also receive the sum of one dollar for every ten miles they shall travel, in going to and returning from their place of meeting, on the most usual route. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of assembly shall, in virtue of their offices, receive an additional compensation, equal to one-third of their per diem allowance as members. 8. Members of the senate and general assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sitting of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate, in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. Section V. 1. No member of the senate or general assembly shall, during the time for which he was elected, be nominated or appointed by the governor or by the legislature in joint meeting, to any civil office under the au thority of this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time. 2. If any member of the senate or general assembly shall be elected What to vato represent this state in the senate or house of representatives of the cate seat. United States, and shall accept thereof, or shall accept of any office or appointment under the government of the United States, his seat in the legislature of this state shall thereby be vacated. ble. 3. No justice of the supreme court, nor judge of any other court, Who ineligi sheriff, justice of the peace, nor any person or persons possessed of any office of profit under the government of this state, shall be entitled to a seat either in the senate or in the general assembly; but, on being elected and taking his seat, his office shall be considered vacant; and no person holding any office of profit under the government of the United States shall be entitled to a seat in either house. Section VI. 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of Revenue. assembly; but the senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. 2. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but for appropría- Money. tions made by law. 3. The credit of the state shall not be directly or indirectly loaned Credit. in any case. create debts. 4. The legislature shall not, in any manner, create any debt or debts, Power to liability or liabilities, of the state, which shall singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities at any time exceed one hundred thousand dollars, except for purposes of war, or to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection, unless the same shall be authorized by a law for some single object or work, to be distinctly specified therein; which law shall provide the ways and means, exclusive of loans, to pay the interest of such debt or liability as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of such debt or liability within thirty-five years from the time of the contracting thereof, and shall be irrepealable until such debt or liability, and the interest thereon, are fully paid and discharged; and no such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people, and have received the sanction of a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election; and all money to be raised by the authority of such law shall be applied only to the specific object stated therein, and to the payment of the debt thereby created. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that has been, or may be, deposited with this state by the government of the United States. Section VII. 1. No divorce shall be granted by the legislature. Divorce. any Lotteries. 2. No lottery shall be authorized by this state; and no ticket in lottery not authorized by a law of this state shall be bought or sold within the state. Attainder 3. The legislature shall not pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or depriving a party and ex post of any remedy for enforcing a contract which existed when the contract was made. facto laws. 4. To avoid improper influences which may result from intermixing Laws to be in one and the same act such things as have no proper relation to single. each other, every law shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in the title. 5. The laws of this state shall begin in the following style, "Be it Enacting enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New clause. Jersey." |