Preface to the First Edition and Acknowledgments

Abstract

Extract This book is the result of over forty years that I have been interested in and studying state constitutions. I became interested in the field in the spring of 1967—before going to law school and while I was serving as a legislative aide to Representative Bob Graham in the Florida House of Representatives. The Florida Legislature stayed in session all summer and revised the 1885 Florida Constitution. The revisions were submitted to the voters, approved, and took effect in 1968. Several years later, I wrote my law review Note about the new state constitution’s property tax provisions. Since beginning my academic career in 1980 at Rutgers, I have taught and written about state constitutions. I have learned immeasurably from the Rutgers law students’ class discussions and research papers in my State Constitutional Law course over almost thirty years. Many of these lessons and insights are reflected in my State Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials (4th ed. 2006) and, now, in this book.