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- CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF INDIANA
- (as amended to 1972)
-
- PREAMBLE
-
- To the end, that justice be established, public order main-
- tained, and liberty perpetuated: WE, the people of the
- State of Indiana, grateful to ALMIGHTY GOD for the free
- exercise of the right to choose our own form of government,
- do ordain this Constitution.
-
- ARTICLE 1
-
- BILL OF RIGHTS
-
- Sec. 1. WE DECLARE, That all men are created equal; that they are
- endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable rights;
- that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
- happiness; that all power is inherent in the People; and
- that all free governments are, and of right ought to be,
- founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace,
- safety, and well being. For the advancement of these ends,
- the People have, at all times, an indefeasible right to
- alter and reform their government.
-
- Sec. 2. All men shall be secured in their natural right to worship
- Almighty God, according to the dictates of their own con-
- sciences.
-
- Sec. 3. No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exer-
- cise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with
- the rights of conscience.
-
- Sec. 4. No preference shall be given, by law, to any creed, reli-
- gious society, or mode of worship; and no man shall be com-
- pelled to attend, erect, or support, any place of worship,
- or to maintain any ministry, against his consent.
-
- Sec. 5. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for
- any office of trust or profit.
-
- Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from the public treasury, for the
- benefit of any religious or theological institution.
-
- Sec. 7. No person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness, in
- consequence of his opinions on matters of religion.
-
- Sec. 8. The mode of administering an oath or affirmation, shall be
- such as may be most consistent with, and binding upon, the
- conscience of the person, to whom such oath or affirmation
- may be administered.
-
- Sec. 9. No law shall be passed, restraining the free interchange of
- thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak,
- write, or print, freely, on any subject whatever: but for
- the abuse of that right, every person shall be responsible.
-
- Sec. 10. In all prosecutions for libel, the truth of the matters
- alleged to be libelous may be given in justification.
-
- Sec. 11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
- houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search, or
- seizure, 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 person or thing to be seized.
-
- Sec. 12. All courts shall be open; and every man, for injury done to
- him in his person, property, or reputation, shall have
- remedy by due course of law. Justice shall be administered
- freely, and without purchase; completely, and without
- denial; speedily, and without delay.
-
- Sec. 13. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the
- right to a public trial, by an impartial jury, in the county
- in which the offense shall have been committed; to be heard
- by himself and counsel; to demand the nature and cause of
- the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof; to
- meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory
- process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.
-
- Sec. 14. No person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same of-
- fense, No person, in any criminal prosecution, shall be com-
- pelled to testify against himself.
-
- Sec. 15. No person arrested, or confined in jail, shall be treated
- with unnecessary rigor.
-
- Sec. 16. Excessive bail shall not be required. Excessive fines shall
- not be imposed. Cruel and unusual punishments shall not be
- inflicted. All penalties shall be proportioned to the na-
- ture offence.
-
- Sec. 17. Offenses, other than murder or treason, shall be bailable by
- sufficient sureties. Murder or treason shall not be bail-
- able, when the proof is evident, or the presumption strong.
-
- Sec. 18. The penal code shall be founded on the principles of reform-
- ation, and not of vindictive justice.
-
- Sec. 19. In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the
- right to determine the law and the facts.
-
- Sec. 20. In all civil cases, the right of trial by jury shall remain
- inviolate.
-
- Sec. 21. No man's particular services shall be demanded, without just
- compensation. No man's property shall be taken by law,
- without just compensation; nor, except in case of the State,
- without just compensation first assessed and tendered.
-
- Sec. 22. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts
- of life, shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a
- reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale for the
- payment of any debt or liability hereafter contracted; and
- there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in case of
- fraud.
-
- Sec. 23. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or
- class of citizens, privileges or immunities which, upon the
- same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.
-
- Sec. 24. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of
- contracts, shall ever be passed.
-
- Sec. 25. No law shall be passed, the taking effect of which shall be
- made to depend upon any authority, except as provided in
- this Constitution.
-
- Sec. 26. The operation of the laws shall never be suspended, except
- by the authority of the General Assembly.
-
- Sec. 27. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus-
- pended, except in case of rebellion or invasion; and then,
- only if the public safety demand it.
-
- Sec. 28. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war
- against it, and in giving aid and comfort to its enemies.
-
- Sec. 29. No person shall be convicted of treason, except on the tes-
- timony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or upon his
- confession in open court.
-
- Sec. 30. No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture
- of estate.
-
- Sec. 31. No law shall restrain any of the inhabitants of the State
- from assembling together in a peaceable manner, to consult
- for their common good; nor from instructing their repre-
- sentatives; nor from applying to the General Assembly for
- redress of grievances.
-
- Sec. 32. The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense
- of themselves and the State.
-
- Sec. 33. The military shall be kept in strict subordination to the
- civil power.
-
- Sec. 34. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any
- house, without the consent of the owner; nor, in time of
- war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
-
- Sec. 35. The General Assembly shall not grant any title of nobility,
- nor confer hereditary distinctions.
-
- Sec. 36. Emigration from the State shall not be prohibited.
-
- Sec. 37. There shall be neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude,
- within the State, otherwise than for the punishment of
- crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
- No indenture of any Negro or Mulatto, made or executed out
- of the bounds of the State, shall be valid within the State.
-
-
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