CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. PRELIMINARY ACTION. WHEREAS, The Act of Congress, approved March twenty- Preamble. first, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty four, "To enable the People of the Territory of Nevada to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," requires that the members of the Convention for framing such Constitution shall, after organization, on behalf of the people of said Territory, adopt the Constitution of the United States; therefore, be it United Resolved, That the members of this Convention, elected by the Constituauthority of the aforesaid Enabling Act of Congress, assembled tion of in Carson City, the Capital of said Territory of Nevada, and States immediately subsequent to its organization, do adopt, on behalf adopted. of the people of said Territory, the Constitution of the United States. ORDINANCE. In obedience to the requirements of an Act of the Congress Ordinance. of the United States, approved March twenty-first, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-four, to enable the people of Nevada to form a Constitution and State Government, this Convention, elected and convened in obedience to said Enabling Act, do ordain as follows-and this ordinance shall be irrevocable, with out the consent of the United States and the people of the State of Nevada: First-That there shall be in this State neither slavery nor Slavery involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment for prohibited. crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. sentiment Second-That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall Religious be secured, and no inhabitant of said State shall ever be mo- tolerated. lested, in person or property, on account of his or her mode of religious worship. Third-That the people inhabiting said Territory do agree, title to puband declare, that they forever disclaim all right and title to disclaimed Right and lic lands United lands the unappropriated public lands lying within said Territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States; and that lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said State, shall never be taxed higher than the land belonging to residents thereof; and that no taxes shall be imposed by said State on lands or property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States. PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, insure domestic tranquillity, and form a more perfect Government, do establish this CONSTITUTION. Paramount allegiance. ARTICLE I. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. SECTION 1. All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. SEC. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government, in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers, as the same have been, or may be, defined by the Supreme Court of the United States, and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, subvert, or resist the supreme authority of the Government of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers Powers of full power on the Federal Government to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and when soever any portion of the States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority. Federal Government. Right of trial by jury. SEC. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate forever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law; and in civil cases, if three fourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict, it shall stand, and have the same force and effect as a verdict by the whole jury; provided, the Legislature, by a law passed by a two thirds vote of all the members elected to each branch thereof, may require a unanimous verdict, notwithstanding this provision. SEC. 4 The free exercise and enjoyment of religious pro- Religious fession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall worship. forever be allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of his religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. SEC. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not Habeas be suspended, unless, when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the corpus. public safety may require its suspension. SEC. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive Bail. fines imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted; nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained. SEC. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties; When unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident, or the bailable. presumption great. infamous SEC. 8. No person shall be tried for a capital or other infa- Capital or mous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of crimes, the militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces how tried. in time of war, or which this State may keep with the consent of Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny, under the regulation of the Legislature), except on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury; and in any trial in any Court whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person, and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or When property, without due process of law; nor shall private prop erty be taken for public use without just compensation having taken been first made or secured, except in cases of war, riot, fire, or compensagreat public peril, in which case compensation shall be after- tion. ward made. property may be without SEC. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish Freedom of his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse speech and of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecu tions, and civil actions for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted or exonerated. assemble SEC. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble Right to together to consult for the common good, to instruct their rep and resentatives, and to petition the Legislature for redress of petition. grievances. to be SEC. 11. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. Standing No standing army shall be maintained by this State in time of army not peace, and in time of war no appropriation for a standing army maintained shall be for a longer time than two years. Apportionment of representation. Privileges SEC. 12. 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 the manner to be prescribed by law. SEC. 13. Representation shall be apportioned according to population. SEC. 14. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary of debtors. comforts of life shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale for payment of any debts or liabilities hereafter contracted; and there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud, libel, or slander, and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. Ex post SEC. 15. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impair. facto law. ing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed. Rights of bona fide residents. Slavery SEC. 16. Foreigners who are; or who may hereafter become, bona fide residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property as native-born citizens. SEC. 17. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless prohibited. for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State. Rights against seizures and searches. Treason, consist. SEC. 18. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place or places to be searched, and the person or persons, and thing or things to be seized. SEC. 19. Treason against the State shall consist only in levyof what to ing war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. And 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. Right of suffrage, who entitled. SEC. 20. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. SECTION 1. Every white male citizen of the United States (not laboring under the disabilities named in this Constitution), of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall have actually and not constructively resided in the State six months, and in the district or county thirty days next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elected by the people, and upon all questions submitted to the electors at such election; provided, that no person who has been or may be convicted of treason or felony in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights, and no person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or held civil or military office under the so-called Confederate States, or either of them, unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Government, and no idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector. when not SEC. 2. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed Residence, to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or gained or absence while employed in the service of the United States, nor Ïost. while engaged in the navigation of the waters of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison. in military service. SEC. 3. The right of suffrage shall be enjoyed by all persons Right of otherwise entitled to the same, who may be in the military or be enjoyed suffrage to naval service of the United States; provided, that the votes so by persons cast shall be made to apply to the county and township of which said voters were bona fide residents at the time of their enlistment; and, provided further, that the payment of a poll tax or a registration of such voters shall not be required as a condition to the right of voting. Provision shall be made by law regulating the manner of voting, holding elections, and making returns of such elections, wherein other provisions are not contained in this Constitution. SEC. 4. During the day on which any general election shall Elector be held in this State, no qualified elector shall be arrested by not to bo virtue of any civil process. arrested. SEC. 5. All elections by the people shall be by ballot, and all Elections. elections by the Legislature, or by either branch thereof, shall be viva voce. tion of electors SEC. 6. Provision shall be made by law for the registration Registra of the names of the electors within the counties of which they may be residents, and for the ascertainment, by proper proofs, required. of the persons who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage, as hereby established, to preserve the purity of elections, and to regulate the manner of holding and making returns of the same; and the Legislature shall have power to prescribe by law any other or further rules or oaths as may be deemed necessary, as a test of electoral qualification. SEC. 7. The Legislature shall provide by law for the payment Poll tax. of an annual poll tax of not less than two nor exceeding four dollars from each male person resident in the State, between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years (uncivilized American Indians excepted), one half to be applied for State and one half for county purposes; and the Legislature may, in its discretion, make such payment a condition to the right of voting. voters. SEC. 8. All persons qualified by law to vote for representa- Qualified tives to the General Assembly of the Territory of Nevada on the twenty-first day of March, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and all other persons who may be lawful voters in said Territory on the first Wednesday of September next following, shall be entitled to vote directly upon the question of adopting or rejecting this Constitution. |