NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION 1947
Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November 2003
A Constitution agreed upon by the delegates of the people of New Jersey, in
Convention, begun at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, in
New Brunswick, on the twelfth day of June, and continued to the tenth day of
September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-seven.
We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for the
civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and
looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same
unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
ARTICLE I
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES
- All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural
and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life
and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of
pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
- a. 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 at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may
require it.
b. The people reserve unto themselves the power to recall,
after at least one year of service, any elected official in this State or
representing this State in the United States Congress. The Legislature shall
enact laws to provide for such recall elections. Any such laws shall include a
provision that a recall election shall be held upon petition of at least 25%
of the registered voters in the electoral district of the official sought to
be recalled. If legislation to implement this constitutional amendment is not
enacted within one year of the adoption of the amendment, the Secretary of
State shall, by regulation, implement the constitutional amendment, except
that regulations adopted by the Secretary of State shall be superseded by any
subsequent legislation consistent with this constitutional amendment governing
recall elections. The sufficiency of any statement of reasons or grounds
procedurally required shall be a political rather than a judicial
question.
- No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping
Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor
under any pretense whatever be compelled to attend any place of worship
contrary to his faith and judgment; nor shall any person be obliged to pay
tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing any church or
churches, place or places of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister
or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right or has deliberately and
voluntarily engaged to perform.
- There shall be no establishment of one religious sect in preference to
another; no religious or racial test shall be required as a qualification for
any office or public trust.
- No person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil or military right,
nor be discriminated against in the exercise of any civil or military right,
nor be segregated in the militia or in the public schools, because of
religious principles, race, color, ancestry or national origin.
- Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all
subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be
passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all
prosecutions or indictments 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.
- 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 except upon probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the
papers and things to be seized.
- No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense, unless on the
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or
in cases now prosecuted without indictment, or arising in the army or navy or
in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public
danger.
- The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; but the Legislature may
authorize the trial of civil causes by a jury of six persons. The Legislature
may provide that in any civil cause a verdict may be rendered by not less than
five-sixths of the jury. The Legislature may authorize the trial of the issue
of mental incompetency without a jury.
- In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right to a speedy
and public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the
assistance of counsel in his defense.
- No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the same offense. All
persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except
for capital offenses when the proof is evident or presumption great.
- Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines shall not be
imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted. It shall
not be cruel and unusual punishment to impose the death penalty on a person
convicted of purposely or knowingly causing death or purposely or knowingly
causing serious bodily injury resulting in death who committed the homicidal
act by his own conduct or who as an accomplice procured the commission of the
offense by payment or promise of payment of anything of pecuniary
value.
- No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any action, or on any judgment
found upon contract, unless in cases of fraud; nor shall any person be
imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.
- The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless
in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
- The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.
- 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 a manner prescribed by
law.
- Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or
in adhering to its enemies, 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.
- The people have the right freely to assemble together, to consult for the
common good, to make known their opinions to their representatives, and to
petition for redress of grievances.
- Persons in private employment shall have the right to organize and bargain
collectively. Persons in public employment shall have the right to organize,
present to and make known to the State, or any of its political subdivisions
or agencies, their grievances and proposals through representatives of their
own choosing.
- Private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation. Individuals or private corporations shall not be authorized to
take private property for public use without just compensation first made to
the owners.
- This enumeration of rights and privileges shall not be construed to impair
or deny others retained by the people.
- A victim of a crime shall be treated with fairness, compassion and respect
by the criminal justice system. A victim of a crime shall not be denied the
right to be present at public judicial proceedings except when, prior to
completing testimony as a witness, the victim is properly sequestered in
accordance with law or the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New
Jersey. A victim of a crime shall be entitled to those rights and remedies as
may be provided by the Legislature. For the purposes of this paragraph,
"victim of a crime" means: a) a person who has suffered physical or
psychological injury or has incurred loss of or damage to personal or real
property as a result of a crime or an incident involving another person
operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and
b) the spouse, parent, legal guardian, grandparent, child or sibling of the
decedent in the case of a criminal homicide. Article I, paragraph 2 amended
effective January 1, 1994; paragraph 9 amended effective December 4, 1973;
paragraph 12 amended effective December 3, 1992; paragraph 22 added effective
December 5, 1991.
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