Southern Constitutional Committee of 2022 Thread

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Southern Constitutional Committee

Governor, the following resolution has passed:

Constitutional Convention Resolution:

Pursuant to Article VII, Section 4 of the Southern Constitution, this chamber considers it desirable to comprehensively improve this constitution, and we ask the governor to call a Constitutional Convention.

Per the aforementioned article, this resolution shall not be considered operative without the assent of four-fifths of the chamber.

I hereby call a Constitutional Convention to redraft our Constitution.

Executive Order #10
As stated under the mechanism of Article VII, Section 4 of the Southern Constitution, a Constitutional Convention is hereby called to begin. Reagente, TimTurner, and Mr. Reactionary (blackraisin) are to serve on the Southern Constitutional Committee alongside the Governor.

Let's start this.

Link to current Southern Constitution
Link to previous Southern Constitutional Taskforce

[Mr. Reactionary]

Thank you for the nomination Mr. Governor.

I have a proposed redraft of the Bill of Rights ready. Its in Microsoft Word format on my home laptop so I can copy/paste that in here tonight after work.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Thanks for the nomination Mr. Governor.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Article II: Bill of Rights
The people of The South are naturally endowed by our creator God with certain inalienable rights which shall not be infringed under this constitution, including:

1. Freedom of Speech — All persons in the South are entitled to their freedom of thought and expression of their ideas and to communicate these ideas. No person shall be compelled to communicate or fund any thought repugnant to him, excepting sworn testimony before a court or board as well as information necessary and proper to commercial transactions. No laws shall be passed regulating or restraining the freedom of persons to reduce protected speech into other mediums, to make noncommercial copies thereof, and to publish or broadcast this protected speech. Freedom of speech and press shall be protected by the law with exceptions made for only those categories of speech not traditionally protected at common law. There shall be no law limiting the right of southern citizens to submit petitions to their elected officials free from retaliation and to sue in a proper court for proper relief. Additionally, there shall be no law prohibiting the right of persons to gather or assemble, on either public or private property, for any peaceful reason. Persons enjoy the right to associate together for the purpose of exercising any other right in concert, including the right to form entities for such purpose subject to law, as well as the right to exclude persons from noncommercial associations, the right to refuse to associate with an association, and the freedom from excessive burdens imposed upon associations.

2. Equality — All persons in the South are born equal, and shall be treated as so under the law, no matter their sex, race, color, or ethnicity, religion, parentage, disability, economic status, or State of residence within the Region. The provision of separate but equal facilities or programs based on sex in areas where such separation is traditional does not violate this provision. No government institution may explicitly favor one group over another, including through affirmative action programs, nor shall any government exempt its officers or employees from any law applying generally to the public nor shall the executive suspend any law without consent of the legislature. No title of nobility shall be granted within the Southern Region. No person in the South shall be excluded from participating in public life based on the arbitrary classifications enumerated herein, including participation in the militia, in court proceedings as a witness or juror, or in consideration for public office or employment.

3. Democracy — The people of The South live in a republican democracy, and therefore all law-abiding citizens who meet voting requirements as established by law shall be granted the right to vote.

4. Rights of the Accused — All persons accused of a crime shall be presumed innocent until convicted by law. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or felony crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and locale wherein the crime shall have been committed, as determined by law and allowing for changes of venue when an impartial jury cannot be empaneled, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and be provided with a copy thereof; to a writ of habeas corpus when appropriate; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to present evidence of his innocence, offer jury instructions, exclude evidence obtained in violation of this Bill of Rights, and raise alternative arguments without prejudice. No person shall be tried for a crime in absentia or by a bill of attainder. Vague criminal laws shall be construed in favor of the accused. A person may voluntarily waive any of these rights upon declaration under oath to the court that such waiver is being made knowingly and freely. A jury conviction shall be unanimous. All persons standing trial shall be entitled to a copy of any exculpatory evidence in the possession of the prosecutor.

5. Right to Privacy — All people have the general right to privacy subject to the public health and safety. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, records, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. A copy of the warrant shall be provided to the person being searched. No Soldier, militiaman, police, or public employee shall, in time of peace be quartered in any private property, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, invasion, or imminent peril, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. No person shall be required by law to present identification merely to be physically present in a public place. No list or database shall ever be created, compiled, or maintained of any privately owned weapons nor shall any list or database of persons exercising these rights be created.

6. Right to Religious Freedom — Each person possesses the right to believe or not believe whatever religious  ideas they choose. No government shall infringe upon anyone's right to believe, worship, or participate in religious rites, subject to laws of general applicability where a reasonable accommodation is not possible. No person conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms shall be compelled to do so. Furthermore there shall be no preference, endorsement, nor biases against or in favor of any one religion or a combination of religions, nor shall the religious be excluded from receiving public funds. No religious test or oath of office shall be required for public office or public employment. No government power shall be delegated to a religious body or organization nor shall the government have any power to determine or resolve disputed religious doctrine. The use of nondenominational prayers by public officials and employees shall not constitute the preferencing or endorsement of a religion nor shall the use of the Bible as a teaching tool in public schools, provided that such instructional use is not presented as pure fact.

7. Right to Property — All persons possess the general right of quiet enjoyment of their real, personal, and intangible property including the right to use, transport, alienate, and dispose of such property subject to the public interest. The taking of private property of any type for actual use by the public without just compensation determined by a proper court of law is prohibited, and the owner of any property taken in such manner shall have the right to reacquire such property for just compensation if such property is not actually used by the public.

8. Right to Travel — All persons have the right to move, travel, and roam, with or without other persons and with or without their lawful property on public lands and right-of-ways, when such movement does not imminently jeopardize the public health or safety. All persons also have the right to hunt, fish, forage for sustenance, camp, harvest timber, and consume public natural resources subject to reasonable laws for the promotion of conservation and good stewardship.

9. No Taxation Without Representation — No citizen subject to taxation who meets the general voting requirements shall be denied the opportunity to vote for their representation in government.

10. Right to Arms —The right of all persons who have not been convicted of a violent crime or have been declared incompetent through due process of law to own and publicly carry as many of any type of any lawful weapon as is desired for whatever lawful purpose shall not be infringed. Lawful weapons include but shall not be limited to any caliber of any firearm that can be carried and operated by a single person, bladed or blunt melee weapons, fireworks, hand-propelled explosives such as hand grenades, and electric stun guns. Accessories and ammunition for lawful weapons shall be construed as lawful weapons.

11. Cruel and Unusual Punishment — Excessive bail shall not be required nor unreasonably denied when the suspect is not a flight or safety risk, nor excessive fines or punitive damages imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Humane capital punishment after due process for murder or rape convictions shall not be considered a cruel or unusual punishment.

12. Personal autonomy — All persons are sovereign over their physical persons. All persons have a right to be born when such birth does not endanger the life of the mother. All persons have a right to a name. All persons have the right to engage in self-dense. No competent person shall be compelled to receive any medical treatment, sterilization, abortion, drug, or vaccine, nor shall any competent person be compelled to ingest anything, or have an organ or body part removed, or receive any tattoo, marking, or microchip. No person shall be compelled to become impregnated or engage in sexual conduct with any person nor shall any unrelated consenting adults be prohibited from engaging in non-commercial sexual conduct in private, subject to reasonable public health measures to prevent the spread of sexually transmissible diseases and reasonable protections against coercive sex resulting from hierarchical power imbalances. Slavery and involuntary servitude, whether as a result of legal status, punishment, peonage, debts, or contracts is hereby prohibited. This shall not include participation in legal proceedings or in a draft or militia service during an emergency declared pursuant to law.

13. Family — All persons have the right to form families. No two consenting adults disrelated by blood by at least two degrees of family lineage shall be prohibited from legal marriage. No person shall be prohibited by law from conceiving and bearing children nor shall any law unreasonably limit the legal adoption of children by adults determined by law to be competent parents or of incapacitated adults by family members determined by law to be competent guardians. Parents shall have the right to direct the care, custody, and education of their child, provided that the best interests of the child are not greatly endangered by such determination. Family members and descendants shall be entitled to prevent the intentional desecration, destruction, damaging, or removal of the graves of and public monuments to their loved ones, whether by force, injunction, or other legal remedy.

14. Contract — All persons possess the general right to contract with other persons, whether for goods, property, wages, labor, personal services, insurance, or other lawful purpose, subject to the public policy and laws of the Southern Region. No person shall refuse to contract with another person for goods, property, wages, or insurance on the basis of being a member in a classification protected in Paragraph 2 of this Bill of Rights.

15. Labor — All persons possess the right to engage in a skilled trade, the right to alienate their labor, the right to collectively bargain their labor, the right to form and join unions for such purpose, the right to refuse to join or fund unions without retaliation, and the right to privacy both through a secret ballot in any union certification election and protection from having personal information given by an employer to representatives of a union.

16. Civil Lawsuits — In civil cases where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court, than according to the rules of the common law nor shall any jury be bifurcated between determining facts and determining a reward. Equitable remedies shall be solely reserved for the judiciary which shall possess the power to issue all writs to provide an adequate remedy. No defendant shall be denied the presumption of non-liability. Any person may settle a civil claim without approval of a court.

17. Crime Victims— The victim of any crime as determined by due process of law shall be entitled to restitution from the criminal, the right to address the court prior to sentencing, and the right to notice when the criminal has escaped or is released from prison.

18. Marijuana — The right of adults to cultivate, harvest, and consume tobacco, marijuana, cannabis, or derivatives thereof for personal use shall not be violated, subject to reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of consuming the same. No law shall prohibit in totality the commercial sale or distribution of such products.

19. Revolution — Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

20. Other Rights — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Article II: Bill of Rights
The people of The South are naturally endowed by our creator God with certain inalienable rights which shall not be infringed under this constitution, including:

1. Freedom of Speech — All persons in the South are entitled to their freedom of thought and expression of their ideas and to communicate these ideas. No person shall be compelled to communicate or fund any thought repugnant to him, excepting sworn testimony before a court or board as well as information necessary and proper to commercial transactions. No laws shall be passed regulating or restraining the freedom of persons to reduce protected speech into other mediums, to make noncommercial copies thereof, and to publish or broadcast this protected speech. Freedom of speech and press shall be protected by the law with exceptions made for only those categories of speech not traditionally protected at common law. There shall be no law limiting the right of southern citizens to submit petitions to their elected officials free from retaliation and to sue in a proper court for proper relief. Additionally, there shall be no law prohibiting the right of persons to gather or assemble, on either public or private property, for any peaceful reason. Persons enjoy the right to associate together for the purpose of exercising any other right in concert, including the right to form entities for such purpose subject to law, as well as the right to exclude persons from noncommercial associations, the right to refuse to associate with an association, and the freedom from excessive burdens imposed upon associations.

2. Equality — All persons in the South are born equal, and shall be treated as so under the law, no matter their sex, race, color, or ethnicity, religion, parentage, disability, economic status, or State of residence within the Region. No government institution may explicitly favor one group over another, including through affirmative action programs, nor shall any government exempt its officers or employees from any law applying generally to the public nor shall the executive suspend any law without consent of the legislature. No title of nobility shall be granted within the Southern Region. No person in the South shall be excluded from participating in public life based on the arbitrary classifications enumerated herein, including participation in the militia, in court proceedings as a witness or juror, or in consideration for public office or employment.

3. Democracy — The people of The South live in a republican democracy, and therefore all law-abiding citizens who meet voting requirements as established by law shall be granted the right to vote.

4. Rights of the Accused — All persons accused of a crime shall be presumed innocent until convicted by law. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or felony crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and locale wherein the crime shall have been committed, as determined by law and allowing for changes of venue when an impartial jury cannot be empaneled, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to a writ of habeas corpus when appropriate; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to present evidence of his innocence, offer jury instructions, exclude evidence obtained in violation of this Bill of Rights, and raise alternative arguments without prejudice. No person shall be tried for a crime in absentia or by a bill of attainder. Vague criminal laws shall be construed in favor of the accused. A person may voluntarily waive any of these rights upon declaration under oath to the court that such waiver is being made knowingly and freely.

5. Right to Privacy — All people have the general right to privacy subject to the public health and safety. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, records, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. No Soldier, militiaman, police, or public employee shall, in time of peace be quartered in any private property, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, invasion, or imminent peril, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. No person shall be required by law to present identification merely to be physically present in a public place. No list or database shall ever be created, compiled, or maintained of any privately owned weapons nor shall any list or database of persons exercising these rights be created.

6. Right to Religious Freedom — Each person possesses the right to believe or not believe whatever religious  ideas they choose. No government shall infringe upon anyone's right to believe, worship, or participate in religious rites, subject to laws of general applicability where a reasonable accommodation is not possible. No person conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms shall be compelled to do so. Furthermore there shall be no preference, endorsement, nor biases against or in favor of any one religion or a combination of religions, nor shall the religious be excluded from receiving public funds. No religious test or oath of office shall be required for public office or public employment. No government power shall be delegated to a religious body or organization nor shall the government have any power to determine or resolve disputed religious doctrine. The use of nondenominational prayers by public officials and employees shall not constitute the preferencing or endorsement of a religion nor shall the use of the Bible as a teaching tool in public schools, provided that such instructional use is not presented as pure fact.

7. Right to Property — All persons possess the general right of quiet enjoyment of their real, personal, and intangible property including the right to use, transport, alienate, and dispose of such property subject to the public interest. The taking of private property of any type for actual use by the public without just compensation determined by a proper court of law is prohibited, and the owner of any property taken in such manner shall have the right to reacquire such property for just compensation if such property is not actually used by the public.

8. Right to Travel — All persons have the right to move, travel, and roam, with or without other persons and with or without their lawful property on public lands and right-of-ways, when such movement does not imminently jeopardize the public health or safety. All persons also have the right to hunt, fish, forage for sustenance, camp, harvest timber, and consume public natural resources subject to reasonable laws for the promotion of conservation and good stewardship.

9. No Taxation Without Representation — No citizen subject to taxation who meets the general voting requirements shall be denied the opportunity to vote for their representation in government.

10. Right to Arms —The right of all persons who have not been convicted of a violent crime or have been declared incompetent through due process of law to own and publicly carry as many of any type of any lawful weapon as is desired for whatever lawful purpose shall not be infringed. Lawful weapons include but shall not be limited to any caliber of any firearm that can be carried and operated by a single person, bladed or blunt melee weapons, fireworks, hand-propelled explosives such as hand grenades, and electric stun guns. Accessories and ammunition for lawful weapons shall be construed as lawful weapons.

11. Cruel and Unusual Punishment — Excessive bail shall not be required nor unreasonably denied when the suspect is not a flight or safety risk, nor excessive fines or punitive damages imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Humane capital punishment after due process for murder or rape convictions shall not be considered a cruel or unusual punishment.

12. Personal autonomy — All persons are sovereign over their physical persons. All persons have a right to be born. All persons have a right to a name. All persons have the right to engage in self-dense. No competent person shall be compelled to receive any medical treatment, sterilization, abortion, drug, or vaccine, nor shall any competent person be compelled to ingest anything or receive any tattoo, marking, or microchip. No person shall be compelled to engage in sexual conduct with any person nor shall any consenting adults be prohibited from engaging in sexual conduct in private, except when knowingly infecting a partner with a sexually transmissible disease without that partner’s knowledge. Slavery and involuntary servitude, whether as a result of legal status, punishment, peonage, debts, or contracts is hereby prohibited.

13. Family — All persons have the right to form families. No two consenting adults disrelated by blood by at least two degrees of family lineage shall be prohibited from legal marriage. No person shall be prohibited by law from conceiving and bearing children nor shall any law unreasonably limit the legal adoption of children by adults determined by law to be competent parents or of incapacitated adults by family members determined by law to be competent guardians. Parents shall have the right to direct the care, custody, and education of their child, provided that the best interests of the child are not greatly endangered by such determination. Family members and descendants shall be entitled to prevent the intentional desecration, destruction, damaging, or removal of the graves of and public monuments to their loved ones, whether by force, injunction, or other legal remedy.

14. Contract — All persons possess the general right to contract with other persons, whether for goods, property, wages, labor, personal services, insurance, or other lawful purpose, subject to the public policy and laws of the Southern Region. No person shall refuse to contract with another person for goods, property, wages, or insurance on the basis of being a member in a classification protected in Paragraph 2 of this Bill of Rights.

15. Labor — All persons possess the right to engage in a skilled trade, the right to alienate their labor, the right to collectively bargain their labor, the right to form and join unions for such purpose, the right to refuse to join or fund unions without retaliation, and the right to privacy both through a secret ballot in any union certification election and protection from having personal information given by an employer to representatives of a union.

16. Civil Lawsuits — In civil cases where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court, than according to the rules of the common law. Equitable remedies shall be solely reserved for the judiciary which shall possess the power to issue all writs to provide an adequate remedy. No defendant shall be denied the presumption of non-liability. Any person may settle a civil claim without approval of a court.

17. Crime Victims— The victim of any crime as determined by due process of law shall be entitled to restitution from the criminal, the right to address the court prior to sentencing, and the right to notice when the criminal has escaped or is released from prison.

18. Marijuana — The right of adults to cultivate, harvest, and consume tobacco, marijuana, cannabis, or derivatives thereof shall not be violated, subject to reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of consuming the same. No law shall prohibit in totality the commercial sale of such products.

19. Revolution — Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

20. Other Rights — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This is an excellent starting point.

[reagente]

Thought I'd start to fill out the other articles

----


Article I: The Region

1. The South and the Constitution thereof shall be representative of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

2. The region may also be referred to as the Southern Region.

3. The regional capital for The South established in this Constitution shall be Nashville, Tennessee.

4. For purposes of electoral representation, The South shall be divided into two Subregions:
i. The Upper Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
ii. The Deep Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Texas.

----

Article V: The Judicial Branch

1. The judicial power of The South shall be vested in the Southern Circuit Court, whose membership is the Associate Justice from The South.

2. The jurisdiction of the Southern Circuit Court shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution and all official acts made under its authority; to controversies between two or more citizens of The South.

3. Treason against The South, shall consist only in levying War or Rebellion against them, or in adhering to their 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.

4. The Southern Legislature shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

That works.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Perhaps the next best step should be to vote on the amendments individually and then hopefully we can put this to bed. 48 hrs to object.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

No objection.

[Mr. Reactionary]

1. Freedom of Speech — All persons in the South are entitled to their freedom of thought and expression of their ideas and to communicate these ideas. No person shall be compelled to communicate or fund any thought repugnant to him, excepting sworn testimony before a court or board as well as information necessary and proper to commercial transactions. No laws shall be passed regulating or restraining the freedom of persons to reduce protected speech into other mediums, to make noncommercial copies thereof, and to publish or broadcast this protected speech. Freedom of speech and press shall be protected by the law with exceptions made for only those categories of speech not traditionally protected at common law. There shall be no law limiting the right of southern citizens to submit petitions to their elected officials free from retaliation and to sue in a proper court for proper relief. Additionally, there shall be no law prohibiting the right of persons to gather or assemble, on either public or private property, for any peaceful reason. Persons enjoy the right to associate together for the purpose of exercising any other right in concert, including the right to form entities for such purpose subject to law, as well as the right to exclude persons from noncommercial associations, the right to refuse to associate with an association, and the freedom from excessive burdens imposed upon associations.

So we can start with #1 speech.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Looks good.

[Mr. Reactionary]

This basically synthesizes a lot of modern day 1st amendment jurisprudence. It acknowledges the traditional speech expession, expressly acknowledges compelled speech and exceptions, instead of using the older "freedom of press" label which occasionally is musunderstood as only applying to the press we clarify that all may reproduce and distribute speech which is what is actually meant by freedom of press, we clarify that the right to petition includes both physical petitions and lawsuits and prohibit retaliation, and while "freedom of association" is often viewed as an implied right related to peaceful assembly we expressly incorporate it as its own right for clarity's sake. This includes related doctrines of the Supreme Court including right of groups to exclude individuals, the right of individuals to refuse to associate with groups, and freedom from excessive burdens (which hails from an old case where Alabama tried to overburden the NAACP with paperwork to shut them down).

If there are no more comments in 24 hours I will proceed with explainers on 2 and 3.

[Mr. Reactionary]

2. Equality — All persons in the South are born equal, and shall be treated as so under the law, no matter their sex, race, color, or ethnicity, religion, parentage, disability, economic status, or State of residence within the Region. The provision of separate but equal facilities or programs based on sex in areas where such separation is traditional does not violate this provision. No government institution may explicitly favor one group over another, including through affirmative action programs, nor shall any government exempt its officers or employees from any law applying generally to the public nor shall the executive suspend any law without consent of the legislature. No title of nobility shall be granted within the Southern Region. No person in the South shall be excluded from participating in public life based on the arbitrary classifications enumerated herein, including participation in the militia, in court proceedings as a witness or juror, or in consideration for public office or employment.

3. Democracy — The people of The South live in a republican democracy, and therefore all law-abiding citizens who meet voting requirements as established by law shall be granted the right to vote.

[Mr. Reactionary]

So #2 slightly expands the categories of persons eligible for civil rights protections. I went with sex rather than gender since under supreme court precedent sex stereotyping counts as discrimination so orientation and gender identity get bootstrapped in to these protections as well. We clarify that separate but equal is OK for sex, such as separate bathrooms or dorms or sports and whatnot. We clarify that there can be no prima facia discrimination against any group, prohibit government officials from getting special treatment and being exempt from general statutes, ban discriminatory suspensions of thr application of the laws, ban titles of nobility that set some above others, and clarify that no one can be excluded grom public duties like jury service based on a protected category.

3 I dont think we are amending anything.

24 hours for comments.

[Mr. Reactionary]

4. Rights of the Accused — All persons accused of a crime shall be presumed innocent until convicted by law. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or felony crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and locale wherein the crime shall have been committed, as determined by law and allowing for changes of venue when an impartial jury cannot be empaneled, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation including being provided a copy thereof; to a writ of habeas corpus when appropriate; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to present evidence of his innocence, offer jury instructions, exclude evidence obtained in violation of this Bill of Rights, and raise alternative arguments without prejudice. No person shall be tried for a crime in absentia or by a bill of attainder. Vague criminal laws shall be construed in favor of the accused. A person may voluntarily waive any of these rights upon declaration under oath to the court that such waiver is being made knowingly and freely. A jury conviction shall be unanimous. All persons standing trial shall be entitled to a copy of any exculpatory evidence in the possession of the prosecutor.

Rights of the accused. I'll list whats in this proposal then identify which of these were left out of the current BoR.

1. Presumption of Innocence
2. Grand jury indictments
3. No double jeopardy
4. No Self-Incrimination
5. Due Process Clause
6. Speedy Trial
7. Public Trial
8. Jury Trial
9. Vicinage of juries
10. Change of venue
11. Arraignment
12. Copy of charges
13. Habeas corpus
14. Confrontation clause
15. Subpoenas
16. Assistance of Counsel
17. Offer evidence
18. Offer jury instructions
19. Exclusionary rule
20. Arguments in the alternative
21. No trials in absentia
22. No bills of attainder
23. Rule of Lenity
24. Right to waive rights
25. Jury unanimity
26. Exculpatory evidence

Found in current Regional Constitution
- 1, 4 - 9, 11 - 13, 16, 22

Found in current Federal Constitution
- 2, 4 - 8, 11, 14 - 16, 22

Found in United States Constitution
2 - 11, 13 - 16, 22

Required or Implied by U.S. Supreme Court
- 1, 17 - 21, 23, 25. 26

New rights in South
- 2, 3, 10, 14*, 15*, 17 - 21, 23** - 26

New rights in Atlasia
- 3, 10, 17 - 21, 23 - 26


* Required by incorporation of federal BoR
** Required by Regional Statute

So this expands the Bill or Rights by keepin what we currently have, incorporating what the Atlasian BoR has that we dont, incorporating what the RL BoR has that neither us nor Atlasia as a whole has, and then adding a few tangential rights that have been inferred to a certain extent by some RL Supreme Court cases.

Of all these, the biggest surprise seems to be the apparant lack of double jeopardy protection in either constitution.

Any questions? If not then like in a day we will review right to privacy.

[Mr. Reactionary]

5. Right to Privacy — All people have the general right to privacy subject to the public health and safety. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, records, and property, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. A copy of the warrant shall be provided to the person being searched. No Soldier, militiaman, police, or public employee shall, in time of peace be quartered in any private property, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, invasion, or imminent peril, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. No person shall be required by law to present identification merely to be physically present in a public place. No list or database shall ever be created, compiled, or maintained of any privately owned weapons nor shall any list or database of persons exercising these rights be created.

So this is basically the 3rd and 4th Amendments from real life but also requires delivery of a copy of a warrant and bans mandatory ID (does not affect while driving) and secret databases that undermine our rights. The 3rd amendment was foolishly left out of the federal BoR. The warrant provision is currently regional statutory law but not required by the court. The database ban is currently federal statutory law but an unfavorable congress could change it.

If there are no concerns we will proceed to religious freedom tomorrow.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

No objection to  any of this.

[Mr. Reactionary]

6. Right to Religious Freedom — Each person possesses the right to believe or not believe whatever religious  ideas they choose. No government shall infringe upon anyone's right to believe, worship, or participate in religious rites, subject to laws of general applicability where a reasonable accommodation is not possible. No person conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms shall be compelled to do so. Furthermore there shall be no preference, endorsement, nor biases against or in favor of any one religion or a combination of religions, nor shall the religious be excluded from receiving public funds. No religious test or oath of office shall be required for public office or public employment. No government power shall be delegated to a religious body or organization nor shall the government have any power to determine or resolve disputed religious doctrine. The use of nondenominational prayers by public officials and employees shall not constitute the preferencing or endorsement of a religion nor shall the use of the Bible as a teaching tool in public schools, provided that such instructional use is not presented as pure fact.

Ok, so this is largely my attempt to synthesize what the real life religion clause has been interpreted to mean. We acknowledge both right to believe as well as right to take part in worship subject to rules of general applicability (Employment Division v. Smith) but with a requirement to accomodate when possible (Zorach v. Clauson/RFRA). We protect pacificists from militia service per the original draft of the real life 2nd amendment. We prohibit the singling out of a religion (Church of Lukumi v. Hileagh) as well as the singling out of religion generally (Trinity Lutheran v. Comer). We ban religious tests per the real life constitution. We ban delegation of government power to religious bodies (Larkin v. Grendel's Den) and prohibit governments from making determinations of what is "true" church doctrine (Serbian Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich). We protect public prayer per Town of Greece v. Galloway but in opposition to Engel v. Vitale since our Supreme Court said pre-reset Supreme Court cases are "common law" which means they can be amended by legislative acts. We do the same for neutral Bible reading in opposition to Abington School District v. Schempp. Since these last 2 are our self-contained take on earlier language in separate sentences, if the Supreme Court ever strikes down these provisions the remainder of the clause will be fine.

If there are no comments Ill probably do 7 - 11 tomorrow since those are all short.

[Mr. Reactionary]

7. Right to Property — All persons possess the general right of quiet enjoyment of their real, personal, and intangible property including the right to use, transport, alienate, and dispose of such property subject to the public interest. The taking of private property of any type for actual use by the public without just compensation determined by a proper court of law is prohibited, and the owner of any property taken in such manner shall have the right to reacquire such property for just compensation if such property is not actually used by the public.

8. Right to Travel — All persons have the right to move, travel, and roam, with or without other persons and with or without their lawful property on public lands and right-of-ways, when such movement does not imminently jeopardize the public health or safety. All persons also have the right to hunt, fish, forage for sustenance, camp, harvest timber, and consume public natural resources subject to reasonable laws for the promotion of conservation and good stewardship.

9. No Taxation Without Representation — No citizen subject to taxation who meets the general voting requirements shall be denied the opportunity to vote for their representation in government.

10. Right to Arms —The right of all persons who have not been convicted of a violent crime or have been declared incompetent through due process of law to own and publicly carry as many of any type of any lawful weapon as is desired for whatever lawful purpose shall not be infringed. Lawful weapons include but shall not be limited to any caliber of any firearm that can be carried and operated by a single person, bladed or blunt melee weapons, fireworks, hand-propelled explosives such as hand grenades, and electric stun guns. Accessories and ammunition for lawful weapons shall be construed as lawful weapons.

11. Cruel and Unusual Punishment — Excessive bail shall not be required nor unreasonably denied when the suspect is not a flight or safety risk, nor excessive fines or punitive damages imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Humane capital punishment after due process for murder or rape convictions shall not be considered a cruel or unusual punishment.

7 includes the basics of property law as well as eminent domain protections. As worded, this would overturn Kelo v City of New London by prohibiting eminent domain for the purpose of private rather public benefit. It also includes a right to repurchase the property if it isnt actually used by the public.

8 covers the right to travel and use public property. It contains a carveout for quarantines and imminent safety risks. It protects hunting, fishing, and public resource use subject to reasonable regulations to protect the commons.

9 is not being changed

10 is the right to keep and bear arms. It defines arms, allows for restrictions after due process for violent felons and crazies, and clarifies that ammo cannot be restricted either.

11 bans cruel and unusual punishments ad well as excessive fines, bail, and punitive damages. It also clarifies our position on the death penalty for if the federal constitutional ban is ever repealed. As of now it would have no immediate effect.

If no questions, tommorrow I will review personal autonomy and family.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

All this is fine.

[Mr. Reactionary]

12. Personal autonomy — All persons are sovereign over their physical persons. All persons have a right to be born when such birth does not endanger the life of the mother. All persons have a right to a name. All persons have the right to engage in self-dense. No competent person shall be compelled to receive any medical treatment, sterilization, abortion, drug, or vaccine, nor shall any competent person be compelled to ingest anything or receive any tattoo, marking, or microchip. No person shall be compelled to engage in sexual conduct with any person nor shall any unrelated consenting adults be prohibited from engaging in sexual conduct in private, subject to reasonable public health measures to prevent the spread of sexually transmissible diseases. Slavery and involuntary servitude, whether as a result of legal status, punishment, peonage, debts, or contracts is hereby prohibited. This shall not include participation in legal proceedings or in a draft or militia service during an emergency declared pursuant to law.

13. Family — All persons have the right to form families. No two consenting adults disrelated by blood by at least two degrees of family lineage shall be prohibited from legal marriage. No person shall be prohibited by law from conceiving and bearing children nor shall any law unreasonably limit the legal adoption of children by adults determined by law to be competent parents or of incapacitated adults by family members determined by law to be competent guardians. Parents shall have the right to direct the care, custody, and education of their child, provided that the best interests of the child are not greatly endangered by such determination. Family members and descendants shall be entitled to prevent the intentional desecration, destruction, damaging, or removal of the graves of and public monuments to their loved ones, whether by force, injunction, or other legal remedy.

Sovereignty.

- So we start with a trigger law on abortion that kicks in if the Supreme Court precedent changes.

- Right to a name is more or less a philosiphical component of autonomy so I threw it in.

- self defense should be self-obvious

- right to bodily autonomy of course would at its basest level include the right to control what is put into your body. So we protect the right to make medical decisions and control your body (when an unborn baby isnt at risk) including against things like sterilization (overturnning Buck v. Bell) and abortion (like China does) and ingestible/injectible medicine (Jacobson v. MA), forced feeding (like was done at Gitmo), tattoos (like the Nazis) and microchips (like the antichrist).

[Upon summarizing I am adding a ban on forced organ harvesting]

- freedom from rape

[Upon summarizing I am adding a ban on forced impregnation too such as like maybe forced in vitro that is not definitionally sex]

- the sex freedom stuff is a semi ratification of Lawrence v. TX. It is limited to unrelated (no incest) consenting (no rape) adults (age of consent and no pedos/zoophiles/necrophiles) in private (no voyuerism) subject to public health (STD best practices). Anything else is protected so no anti-gay or anti-sodomy or anti-orgy laws could be passed.

[Upon summarizing I am adding the word "non-commercial" so that prostitution and porn isnt accidentally by right. I am also adding language on coercion to protect like sexual harassment laws or teacher-adult student sex bans.]

- Slavery is the 13th amedment with protection against slavery or forced labor because of birth or law, as a punishment, and resulting from debt or contract. It exempts the draft; remember we have the conscientious objector language in right to arms.


Next we have the family

- right to form families is the fundamental base

- right to marriage is a semi ratification of Loving v. VA and Obergfell. It is limited to 2 (No polygamy) unrelated (no incest but exempting cousins) adults (No child marriage) which would have the effect of invalidating laws ive heard of against persons with STDs or mental disabilities being allowed to marry.

- right to have kids is again against say the 1-child law in China or how you had to get government-issued baby permits in Starship Troopers, Demolition Man, or Brave New World.

- Right to adopt ensures we have alternatives to government brainwashing orphanages.

- Right to guardianship over incapacitated relatives ensures we have alternatives to government sanitariums and nursing homes.

- Rights of parents covers a bunch of the common law plus a few RL SCOTUS cases like right to send kids to parochial schools and right to teach kids a foreign language. The best interest of the child standard is the family law standard in all 52 states and we require "great endangerment" to limit the governments power to claim like say religious stuff is "harmful" to steal kids.

- Right to stop grave desecration of family members is pretty basic.


If there are no other changes other than those i bracketed and no comments, tomorrow I will try to knock out 14 - 16 which are commercial rights.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Please continue.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Since we are getting close and I’m in the mood, I am just going to go ahead and finish the BoR summaries today in a few posts, and we can leave discussion open for a few days to give everyone a chance to read them all.

14. Contract — All persons possess the general right to contract with other persons, whether for goods, property, wages, labor, personal services, insurance, or other lawful purpose, subject to the public policy and laws of the Southern Region. No person shall refuse to contract with another person for goods, property, wages, or insurance on the basis of being a member in a classification protected in Paragraph 2 of this Bill of Rights.

15. Labor — All persons possess the right to engage in a skilled trade, the right to alienate their labor, the right to collectively bargain their labor, the right to form and join unions for such purpose, the right to refuse to join or fund unions without retaliation, and the right to privacy both through a secret ballot in any union certification election and protection from having personal information given by an employer to representatives of a union.

16. Civil Lawsuits — In civil cases where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court, than according to the rules of the common law nor shall any jury be bifurcated between determining facts and determining a reward. Equitable remedies shall be solely reserved for the judiciary which shall possess the power to issue all writs to provide an adequate remedy. No defendant shall be denied the presumption of non-liability. Any person may settle a civil claim without approval of a court.

Commercial Rights.

So 14 is contract rights. It lays out the general right to contract subject to public policy. This is the generally agreed upon degree of protection. I know delegate Reagente is a fan of Lochner but this does not reinstate it. Otherwise we would jeopardize everything from maximum hours, minimum wages, wage theft protections, whistleblower rules, harassment bans, paid leave, overtime policies, and a host of other laws. I’m afraid of the unintended consequences so that’s why I worded it as I did. This does create the presumption that a contract term is legal unless the government expressly prohibits such term. Another potentially controversial part if you are libertarian, we incorporate civil rights protections by prohibiting the refusal to enter into a sales contract with another based solely on the protected classes identified above. 

15 is labor rights, since labor represents our time and our body and is important to autonomy. It includes the general right to engage in a skilled trade (anti-cartels), the right to collectively bargain and join a union, the right to refuse to join or fund a union if you don’t want to (RTW), and privacy rights of workers both by ensuring secret ballot elections for union certification elections and prohibiting employers from disclosing private employee contact information to unions without consent. A lot of this we have in statute but this ensures we don’t ping pong back and forth on important worker freedoms if a new, anti-worker majority ever takes back over the Chamber.

[In summarizing, I think I am going to clarify that the right to engage in a skilled trade does not nullify reasonable occupation licensing for health and safety. I am not a fan of occupational licensing generally, but there are a few jobs for which it should be necessary and I don’t want to accidentally let anyone practice medicine without training.]

16 pertains to civil (non-criminal) lawsuits such as one might initiate to enforce economic and other property rights. I am not inherently opposed to civil juries, but those are expensive and very impractical at lower amounts. The $20 minimum in the federal constitution (and IRL) due to inflation has effectively made it an unlimited right which is unwieldly. So since rl case law has determined that the civil jury protections (found in the 7th amendment) are not a right that has been incorporated against the States, we should be free to set our own Regional minimum without violating the Atlasian constitution which has identical language to the RL 7th Amendment.

16 also expands upon one of the most overlooked portions of the RL BoR, the reexamination clause. Basically it means that if a jury in a civil trial has determined liability or fault or that a specific act occurred, such finding cannot later be changed by a judge or awards jury. By clarifying that there is an exception for rules of common law, that still allows judges to engage in what is known as “remittitur” which means they can correct a jury award that exceeds a statutory maximum, such as our Regional medical malpractice caps.

16 Additionally, this provision bans jury bifurcation, where 1 jury decides if someone is or isn’t liable, and a different jury determines how much money to award. This is typically only used in complex litigation like class actions and consolidated cases but it can create a lot of reexamination clause issues. I had never heard of this right prior to law school and was fascinated to discover that there was an entire body of law not just for the 7th amendment but for a specific clause in the 7th amendment.

16 clarifies that the power to issue equitable remedies in civil cases lies with the judge and not the jury. So I could talk for hours on the fascinating legal concept of “equity”, which to quickly quash any concerns does not mean the same thing the SJWs are using it for now. The barest bones way to explain equity is that it is a request from a private plaintiff to the court to order a specific thing happen other than money be awarded. So like examples include an injunction, which is when the court orders a specific someone to do or not to do a specific thing. You also have mandamus, where a government worker can be required to perform a non-discretionary act he is already required to do (we used this federally in regards to removals from the no fly list). You have specific performance which like a positive injunction, is a command to a thing. You also have loads of others touching on everything from creditor’s rights and garnishments/attachment, to job reinstatement, declaring trusts, disgorging unjust enrichment, replevin of identifiable property, ejectment of trespassers, quo warranto where a person claiming a right must prove their authority, etc., etc. There are dozens and dozens of equitable remedies and it is really best for a judge to make that determination. We get that IRL because “suits at common law” in 1780s English law is exclusively for money and not for equity. This rewrite however modernizes the language. Related to this, we authorize judges to issue all writs necessary to enforce a right, which fulfills the equitable maxim: “If there is a right, there must be a remedy.”

16’s presumption of non-liability is implied IRL, but like the presumption of innocence in criminal court we are extending this language to civil court as well. Finally, since civil lawsuits are about private rights and property, such cases and resulting judgments are themselves a form of intangible property. So we give anyone the right to freely alienate their property by settling a lawsuit without needing the courts permission.


I will make the occupational licensing change. The next post will conclude the BoR summaries.

[Mr. Reactionary]

17. Crime Victims— The victim of any crime as determined by due process of law shall be entitled to restitution from the criminal, the right to address the court prior to sentencing, and the right to notice when the criminal has escaped or is released from prison.

18. Marijuana — The right of adults to cultivate, harvest, and consume tobacco, marijuana, cannabis, or derivatives thereof for personal use shall not be violated, subject to reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of consuming the same. No law shall prohibit in totality the commercial sale or distribution of such products.

19. Revolution — Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

20. Other Rights — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

17 is rights of crime victims. A lot of States have versions of these but a lot of them are aspirational or next to impossible to enforce like “the right to be treated with fairness and dignity” from the VA Constitution. I took the best, most reasonable and most operative as far as actual, tangible rights.

-   Restitution

-   Right to address the court prior to sentencing

-   Right to notice if the criminal has escaped or been released.


18 is a fun one that is unique to our region. It protects the right of adults to grow and smoke marijuana and tobacco in private. It also prohibits the total ban on the sale of marijuana and tobacco. This doesn’t affect age minimums, taxes, or other reasonable commercial regulations.

19. This may seem radical, but this is actually lifted, word for word, from the RL NH Constitution. Feel free to check but in New Hampshire they have the right to overthrow the government. In law school I did a 30 page research paper on the constitutional right to overthrow the government and I really want to incorporate into our BoR.

And finally, 20 is just an unlisted rights clause, that ensures that this BoR not be viewed as exhaustive and that something not listed can still be a right.

Feel free to post comments or questions.

If not, I am going to add a separate amendment to the constitution with a severability clause, that is a statement that if a federal court strikes down part of our constitution, it is to do so as narrowly as possible without affecting any other portion.

If everybody is cool with that in a couple of days maybe we can go after the other proposed changed Reagente has submitted, and then have a vote-a-rama where we vote separately on each portion. I’m hopeful this can be our new constitution.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Thought I'd start to fill out the other articles

----


Article I: The Region

1. The South and the Constitution thereof shall be representative of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

2. The region may also be referred to as the Southern Region.

3. The regional capital for The South established in this Constitution shall be Nashville, Tennessee.

4. For purposes of electoral representation, The South shall be divided into two Subregions:
i. The Upper Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
ii. The Deep Southern Subregion shall consist of the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Texas.

----

Article V: The Judicial Branch

1. The judicial power of The South shall be vested in the Southern Circuit Court, whose membership is the Associate Justice from The South.

2. The jurisdiction of the Southern Circuit Court shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution and all official acts made under its authority; to controversies between two or more citizens of The South.

3. Treason against The South, shall consist only in levying War or Rebellion against them, or in adhering to their 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.

4. The Southern Legislature shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

So the first change codifies the subregions

The 2nd clarifies the judicial power of the Southern Circuit

Seems pretty straight forward.