Constitution Article 00 Preamble
Constitution Article 01 Declaration of Rights
Constitution Article 02 State Boundaries
Constitution Article 03 Ordinance
Constitution Article 04 Elections and Right of Suffrage
Constitution Article 05 Distribution of Powers
Constitution Article 06 Legislative Department
Constitution Article 07 Executive Department
Constitution Article 08 Judicial Department
Constitution Article 09 Congressional and Legislative Apportionment
Constitution Article 10 Education
Constitution Article 11 Article XI. Local Governments
Constitution Article 12 Corporations
Constitution Article 13 Revenue and Taxation
Constitution Article 14 Public Debt
Constitution Article 15 Militia
Constitution Article 16 Labor
Constitution Article 17 Water Rights
Constitution Article 18 Forestry
Constitution Article 20 Public Lands
Constitution Article 22 Miscellaneous
Constitution Article 23 Amendment and Revision
Constitution Article 24 Schedule
Article 0 Section 0 . Preamble.
Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we, the
people of Utah, in order to secure and perpetuate the principles of free
government, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION.
Article I,
Section 1.
[Inherent and inalienable rights.]
All men have the inherent and inalienable right to
enjoy and defend their lives and liberties; to acquire, possess and protect
property; to worship according
to the dictates of their consciences; to assemble peaceably, protest against wrongs, and
petition for redress of grievances; to communicate freely their thoughts and
opinions, being responsible for the abuse of that right.
Article I,
Section 2. [All political power inherent
in the people.]
All political power is inherent in the people; and all
free governments are founded on their authority for their equal protection and
benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform their government as the
public welfare may require.
Article I,
Section 3. [
The State of
Article I, Section 4. [Religious liberty.]
The rights of conscience shall never be infringed. The
State shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; no
religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office of public
trust or for any vote at any election; nor shall any person be incompetent as a
witness or juror on account of religious belief or the absence thereof. There
shall be no union of Church and State, nor shall any church dominate the State
or interfere with its functions. No public money or property shall be
appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction,
or for the support of any ecclesiastical establishment.
Article I, Section 5. [Habeas corpus.]
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not
be suspended, unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
requires it.
Article I, Section 6. [Right to bear arms.]
The individual right of the people to keep and bear
arms for security and defense of self, family, others, property, or the state,
as well as for other lawful purposes shall not be infringed; but nothing herein
shall prevent the Legislature from defining the lawful use of arms.
Article I, Section 7. [Due process of law.]
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property, without due process of law.
Article I, Section 8. [Offenses bailable.]
(1) All persons charged with a crime shall be bailable except:
(a) persons charged with a capital offense when there
is substantial evidence to support the charge; or
(b) persons charged with a felony while on probation
or parole, or while free on bail awaiting trial on a previous felony charge,
when there is substantial evidence to support the new felony charge; or
(c) persons charged with any other crime, designated
by statute as one for which bail may be denied, if there is substantial
evidence to support the charge and the court finds by clear and convincing
evidence that the person would constitute a substantial danger to any other
person or to the community or is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court
if released on bail.
(2) Persons convicted of a crime are bailable pending appeal only as prescribed by law.
Article I, Section 9. [Excessive bail and
fines -- Cruel punishments.]
Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines
shall not be imposed; nor shall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted.
Persons arrested or imprisoned shall not be treated with unnecessary rigor.
Article I, Section 10. [Trial by jury.]
In capital cases the right of trial by jury shall
remain inviolate. In capital cases the jury shall consist of twelve persons,
and in all other felony cases, the jury shall consist of no fewer than eight
persons. In other cases, the Legislature shall establish the number of jurors by
statute, but in no event shall a jury consist of fewer than four persons. In
criminal cases the verdict shall be unanimous. In civil cases three-fourths of
the jurors may find a verdict. A jury in civil cases shall be waived unless
demanded.
Article I, Section 11. [Courts open --
Redress of injuries.]
All courts shall be open, and every person, for an
injury done to him in his person, property or reputation, shall have remedy by
due course of law, which shall be administered without denial or unnecessary
delay; and no person shall be barred from prosecuting or defending before any
tribunal in this State, by himself or counsel, any civil cause to which he is a
party.
Article I, Section 12. [Rights of accused persons.]
In criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the
right to appear and defend in person and by counsel, to demand the nature and
cause of the accusation against him, to have a copy thereof, to testify in his
own behalf, to be confronted by the witnesses against him, to have compulsory
process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his own behalf, to have a
speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the
offense is alleged to have been committed, and the
right to appeal in all cases. In no instance shall any accused person, before
final judgment, be compelled to advance money or fees to secure the rights
herein guaranteed. The accused shall not be compelled to give
evidence against himself; a wife shall not be
compelled to testify against her husband, nor a husband against his wife, nor
shall any person be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.
Where the
defendant is otherwise entitled to a preliminary examination, the function of
that examination is limited to determining whether probable cause exists unless
otherwise provided by statute. Nothing in this constitution shall preclude the
use of reliable hearsay evidence as defined by statute or rule in whole or in
part at any preliminary examination to determine probable cause or at any
pretrial proceeding with respect to release of the defendant if appropriate
discovery is allowed as defined by statute or rule.
Article I, Section 13.
[Prosecution by information or
indictment -- Grand jury.]
Offenses heretofore required to be prosecuted by
indictment, shall be prosecuted by
information after examination and commitment by a magistrate, unless the
examination be waived by the accused with the consent of the State, or by indictment, with
or without such examination and commitment. The formation of the grand jury and
the powers and duties thereof shall be as prescribed by the Legislature.
Article I, Section 14. [Unreasonable searches forbidden -- Issuance of warrant.]
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
oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
person or thing to be seized.
Article I, Section 15. [Freedom of speech
and of the press -- Libel.]
No law shall be passed to abridge or restrain the
freedom of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions for libel 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; and the jury
shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.
Article I, Section 16. [No imprisonment for debt --
Exception.]
There shall be no imprisonment for debt except in
cases of absconding debtors.
Article I, Section 17. [Elections to be
free -- Soldiers voting.]
All elections shall be free, and no power, civil or
military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right
of suffrage. Soldiers, in time of war, may vote at their post of duty, in or
out of the State, under regulations to be prescribed by law.
Article I, Section 18. [Attainder -- Ex
post facto laws -- Impairing contracts.]
No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law
impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.
Article I, Section 19. [Treason defined -- Proof.]
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.
Article I, Section 20. [Military subordinate to the civil
power.]
The military shall be in strict subordination to the
civil power, and no soldier in time of peace, shall be quartered in any house
without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war
except in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article I, Section 21. [Slavery
forbidden.]
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within this State.
Article I, Section 22. [Private property for
public use.]
Private property shall not be taken or damaged for
public use without just compensation.
Article I, Section 23. [Irrevocable franchises
forbidden.]
No law shall be passed granting irrevocably any
franchise, privilege or immunity.
Article I, Section 24. [Uniform operation
of laws.]
All laws of a general nature shall have uniform
operation.
Article I, Section 25. [Rights retained by people.]
This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to
impair or deny others retained by the people.
Article I, Section 26. [Provisions mandatory and
prohibitory.]
The provisions of this Constitution are mandatory and
prohibitory, unless by express words they are declared to be otherwise.
Article I, Section 27. [Fundamental rights.]
Frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is
essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of free
government.
Article I, Section 28. [Declaration of the
rights of crime victims.]
(1) To preserve and protect victims' rights to justice
and due process, victims of crimes have these rights, as defined by law:
(a) To be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity,
and to be free from harassment and abuse throughout the criminal justice
process;
(b) Upon request, to be informed of, be present at,
and to be heard at important criminal justice hearings related to the victim,
either in person or through a lawful representative, once a criminal
information or indictment charging a crime has been publicly filed in court;
and
(c) To have a sentencing judge, for the purpose of
imposing an appropriate sentence, receive and consider, without evidentiary
limitation, reliable information concerning the background, character, and
conduct of a person convicted of an offense except that this subsection does
not apply to capital cases or situations involving privileges.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as
creating a cause of action for money damages, costs, or attorney's fees, or for
dismissing any criminal charge, or relief from any criminal judgment.
(3) The provisions of this section shall extend to all
felony crimes and such other crimes or acts, including juvenile offenses, as
the Legislature may provide.
(4) The Legislature shall have the power to enforce
and define this section by statute.
Article I, Section 29. [Marriage.]
(1) Marriage consists only of the legal union between
a man and a woman.
(2) No other domestic union, however denominated, may
be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal
effect.
Article II, Section 1
[State boundaries.]
Article 3 Section The following ordinance
shall be irrevocable without the consent of the
[Religious toleration -- Polygamy forbidden.]
First: -- Perfect
toleration of religious sentiment is guaranteed. No inhabitant of this State
shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of
religious worship;
but polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited.
Constitution Article 04 Elections and Right of Suffrage
Constitution Article 05 Distribution of Powers
Constitution Article 06 Legislative Department
Constitution Article 07 Executive Department
Constitution Article 08 Judicial Department
Constitution Article 09 Congressional and Legislative Apportionment
Constitution Article 10 Education
Constitution Article 11 Article XI. Local Governments
Constitution Article 12 Corporations
Constitution Article 13 Revenue and Taxation
Constitution Article 14 Public Debt
Constitution Article 15 Militia
Constitution Article 16 Labor
Constitution Article 17 Water Rights
Constitution Article 18 Forestry
Constitution Article 20 Public Lands
Constitution Article 22 Miscellaneous
Article XXII, Section 1. [Homestead exemption.]
The Legislature shall provide by statute for an
exemption of a homestead, which may consist of one or more parcels of lands,
together with the appurtenances and improvements thereon, from sale on
execution.
Article XXII, Section 3 [Seat of government.]
Article XXII, Section 4 [State trust fund -- Principal to be held in perpetuity -- Use of
income.]
Article XXII, Section 5 [Officers may not profit.]
Constitution Article 23 Amendment and Revision
Constitution Article 24 Schedule