Texas Constitution:Article I, Section 19: Difference between revisions

no edit summary
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 7: Line 7:
The fundamental precept declared by this section has its origin in chapter twenty-nine of ''Magna Carta''. See Cooley, ''A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations which Rest Upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union'' [351-53] (1874) (citations omitted) ("In some form of words, it is to be found in each of the State constitutions . . . . Indeed, the language employed is generally nearly identical, except that the phrase 'due process [or course] of law' is sometimes used, sometimes 'the law of the land,' and in some cases both; but the meaning is the same in every case.").
The fundamental precept declared by this section has its origin in chapter twenty-nine of ''Magna Carta''. See Cooley, ''A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations which Rest Upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union'' [351-53] (1874) (citations omitted) ("In some form of words, it is to be found in each of the State constitutions . . . . Indeed, the language employed is generally nearly identical, except that the phrase 'due process [or course] of law' is sometimes used, sometimes 'the law of the land,' and in some cases both; but the meaning is the same in every case.").


The section is similar to the due-process clause contained in the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal constitution ("nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"). Cf. ''Zucht v. King'', 260 U.S. 174, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17474784919803032884#p176 176] (1922) ("Long before this suit was instituted, ''Jacobson v. Massachusetts'', 197 U.S. 11, had settled that it is within the police power of a State to provide for compulsory vaccination. . . . And still others had settled that the municipality may vest in its officials broad discretion in matters affecting the application and enforcement of a health law.").
This section is similar to the due-process clause contained in the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal constitution ("nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"). Cf. ''Zucht v. King'', 260 U.S. 174, [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17474784919803032884#p176 176] (1922) ("Long before this suit was instituted, ''Jacobson v. Massachusetts'', 197 U.S. 11, had settled that it is within the police power of a State to provide for compulsory vaccination. . . . And still others had settled that the municipality may vest in its officials broad discretion in matters affecting the application and enforcement of a health law.").


Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. [https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2020/kp-0308.pdf#page=2 KP-308] (2020), opined that: "While the Texas and federal Constitutions differ in that Texas refers to 'due course' rather than 'due process,' Texas courts regard these terms as without substantive distinction unless and until a party demonstrates otherwise." The foregoing assertion by the Texas Attorney General is correct concerning "procedural" due process. However, as reflected by several of the decisions referenced below, the state's "substantive" due process jurisprudence has sometimes differed from its federal counterpart.
Note that the Texas Attorney General, in Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. [https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2020/kp-0308.pdf#page=2 KP-308] (2020), opined that: "While the Texas and federal Constitutions differ in that Texas refers to 'due course' rather than 'due process,' Texas courts regard these terms as without substantive distinction unless and until a party demonstrates otherwise." The foregoing assertion by the Texas Attorney General is correct concerning "procedural" due process. However, as reflected by several of the decisions referenced below, the state's "substantive" due process jurisprudence has sometimes differed from its federal counterpart.