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-
-
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- CONSTITUTION
- OF THE
- STATE OF WYOMING
-
- PREAMBLE
-
- We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for
- our civil, political and religious liberties, and desiring
- to secure them to ourselves and perpetuate them to our pos-
- terity, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
-
-
- ARTICLE 1
-
- DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
-
-
- Sec. 1. All power is inherent in the people, and all free govern-
- ments are founded on their authority, and instituted for
- their peace, safety and happiness; for the advancement of
- these ends they have at all times an unalienable right to
- alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as
- they may think proper.
-
- Sec. 2. In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
- happiness, all members of the human race are equal.
-
- Sec. 3. Since equality in the enjoyment of natural and civil rights
- is only made sure through political equality, the laws of
- this state affecting the political rights and privileges of
- its citizens shall be without distinction of race, color,
- sex, or any circumstance or condition whatsoever other than
- individual incompetency, or unworthiness duly ascertained by
- a court of competent jurisdiction.
-
- Sec. 4. 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 affidavit, particu-
- larly describing the place to be searched or the person or
- thing to be seized.
-
- Sec. 5. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, except in cases of
- fraud.
-
- Sec. 6. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property
- without due process of law.
-
- Sec. 7. Absolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and prop-
- erty of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in
- the largest majority.
-
- Sec. 8. All courts shall be open and every person for an injury done
- to person, reputation or property shall have justice admin-
- istered without sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought
- against the state in such manner and in such courts as the
- legislature may by law direct.
-
- Sec. 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate in crim-
- inal cases, but a jury in civil cases in all courts or in
- criminal cases in courts not of record, may consist of less
- than twelve men, as may be prescribed by law. Hereafter a
- grand jury may consist of twelve men, any nine of whom con-
- curring may find an indictment, but the Legislature may
- change, regulate or abolish the grand jury system.
-
- Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the
- right to defend in person and by counsel, to demand the
- nature and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof,
- to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have
- compulsory process served for obtaining witnesses, and to a
- speedy trial by an impartial jury of the county or district
- in which the offense is alleged to have been committed.
-
- Sec. 11. No person shall be compelled to testify against himself in
- any criminal case, nor shall any person be twice put to jeo-
- pardy for the same offense. If a jury disagree, or if the
- judgement be arrested after a verdict, or if the judgement
- be reversed for error in law, the accused shall not be deem-
- ed to have been in jeopardy.
-
- Sec. 12. No person shall be detained as a witness in any criminal
- prosecution longer than may be necessary to take his tes-
- timony or deposition, nor be confined in any room where
- criminals are imprisoned.
-
- Sec. 13. Until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, for a
- felony, be proceeded against criminally, otherwise than by
- indictment, 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.
-
- Sec. 14. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except
- for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the pre-
- sumption great. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
- excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punish-
- ment be inflicted.
-
- Sec. 15. The penal code shall be framed on the humane principles of
- reformation and prevention.
-
- Sec. 16. No person arrested and confined in jail shall be treated
- with unnecessary rigor. The erection of safe and comfortable
- prisons, and inspection of prisons, and the humane treatment
- of prisoners shall be provided for.
-
- Sec. 17. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
- suspended unless, when in case of rebellion or invasion the
- public safety may require it.
-
- Sec. 18. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
- worship without discrimination or preference shall be for-
- ever guaranteed in this state, and no person shall be ren-
- dered incompetent to hold any office of trust or profit, or
- to serve as a witness or juror, because of his opinion on
- any matter of religious belief whatsoever; but the liberty
- of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to
- excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices incon-
- sistent with the peace and safety of the state.
-
- Sec. 19. No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to
- any sectarian or religious society or institution.
-
- Sec. 20. Every person may freely speak, write and publish on all
- subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and
- in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth,
- when published with good intent and [for] justifiable ends,
- shall be a sufficient defense, the jury having the right to
- determine the facts and the law, under the direction of the
- court.
-
- Sec. 21. The right of petition, and of the people peaceably to as-
- semble to consult for the common good, and to make known
- their opinions, shall never be denied or abridged.
-
- Sec. 22. The rights of labor shall have just protection through laws
- calculated to secure to the laborer proper rewards for his
- service and to promote the industrial welfare of the state.
-
- Sec. 23. The right of the citizens to opportunities for education
- should have practical recognition. The legislature shall
- suitably encourage means and agencies calculated to advance
- the sciences and liberal arts.
-
- Sec. 24. The right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves
- and the state shall not be denied.
-
- Sec. 25. The military shall ever be in strict subordination to the
- civil power. No soldier in time of peace shall be quartered
- in any house without consent of the owner, nor in time of
- war except in the manner prescribed by law.
-
- Sec. 26. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war
- against it, or in adhering to its enemies, or in 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; nor shall any person be
- attainted of treason by the legislature.
-
- Sec. 27. Elections shall be open, free and equal, and no power, civil
- or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent an un-
- trammeled exercise of the right of suffrage.
-
- Sec. 28. No tax shall be imposed without the consent of the people or
- their authorized representatives. All taxation shall be
- equal and uniform. Section 29. No distinction shall ever be
- made by law between resident aliens and citizens as to the
- possession, taxation, enjoyment and descent of property.
-
- Sec. 30. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a
- free state, and shall not be allowed. Corporations being
- creatures of the state, endowed for the public good with a
- portion of its sovereign powers, must be subject to its
- control.
-
- Sec. 31. Water being essential to industrial prosperity, of limited
- amount, and easy of diversion from its natural channels, its
- control must be in the state, which, in providing for its
- use, shall equally guard all the various interests involved.
-
- Sec. 32. Private property shall not be taken for private use unless
- by consent of the owner, except for private ways of necess-
- ity, and for reservoirs, drains, flumes or ditches on or
- across the lands of others for agricultural, mining, mill-
- ing, domestic or sanitary purposes, nor in any case without
- due compensation.
-
- Sec. 33. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or
- private use without just compensation.
-
- Sec. 34. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation.
-
- Sec. 35. No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation
- of contracts, shall ever be made.
-
- Sec. 36. The enumeration in this constitution, of certain rights
- shall not be construed to deny, impair, or disparage others
- retained by the people.
-
- Sec. 37. The state of Wyoming is an inseparable part of the federal
- union, and the constitution of the United States is the
- supreme law of the land.
-
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