                         CONSTITUTION OF THE 

                        STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

                              PREAMBLE

   We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
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 to transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding
generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution of government.

                              ARTICLE I

                        DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

Declaration of Certain Constitutional rights and Principles.

   In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom
established by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for our
posterity, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable rights and
principles hereinafter mentioned shall be established, maintained, and
preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in all Legislative, judicial,
and executive proceedings.

Section 1.  In the words of the Father of his Country, we declare that "the 
basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter 
their constitutions of government; but that the constitution which at any 
time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole 
people, is sacredly obligatory upon all."

Section 2.  All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety 
and happiness of the people. All laws, therefore, should be made for the good 
of the whole; and the burdens of the state ought to be fairly distributed 
among its citizens.

Section 3.  Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; and all attempts 
to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapac- 
itations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas a 
principal object of our venerable ancestors, in the migration to this country 
and their settlement of this state, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth 
a lively experiment that a flourishing civil state may stand and be best 
maintained with the full liberty in religious concernments: We, therefore, 
declare that no man shall be compelled to frequent or to support any 
religious worship, place, or ministry whatever, except in fulfillment of his 
own voluntary contract; nor enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in 
his body or goods; nor disqualified from holding any office; nor otherwise 
suffer on account of his religious belief; and that every man shall be free 
to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to 
profess and by argument to maintain his opinion in matters of religion; and 
that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or effect his civil 
capacity.

Section 4.   Slavery shall not be permitted in this state.

Section 5.   Every person within this state ought to find certain remedy, 
by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may 
receive in his person, property, or character. He ought to obtain right and 
justice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial; promptly 
and without delay; conformably to the laws.

Section 6.   The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers  
and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated. and no warrant shall issue, but on complaint in writing, upon 
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as nearly as 
may be, the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Section 7.   No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other 
infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except 
in cases of impeachment, or of such offenses as are cognizable by a justice 
of the peace; or in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. No person 
shall, after an acquittal, be tried for the same offence.

Section 8.   Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted; and all punishments ought to be 
proportioned to the offence.

Section 9.   All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient surety, 
unless for offenses punishable by death or by imprisonment for life, when the 
proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great. The privilege of the writ 
of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or 
invasion the public safety shall require it; nor ever without the authority 
of the General Assembly.

Section 10  In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 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 them in his favor, to 
have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and shall be at liberty to 
speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived of life, liberty, or property, 
unless by the judgement of his peers, or the law of the land.

Section 11.  The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presumption of 
fraud, ought not to be continued in prison, after he shall have delivered up 
his property for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be 
prescribed by law.

Section 12.  No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
contracts shall be passed.

Section 13.  No man in a court of common law shall be compelled to give 
evidence criminating himself.

Section 14.  Every man being presumed innocent, until he is pronounced guilty 
by the law, no act of severity which is not necessary to secure an accused 
person shall be permitted.

Section 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

Section 16.  Private property shall not be taken for public uses, without 
just compensation.

Section 17.  The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the 
rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have been 
heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this state. But no new 
right is intended to be granted, nor any existing right impaired, by this 
declaration.

Section 18. The military shall be held in strict subordination to the civil 
authority. And the law martial shall be used and exercised in such cases only 
as occasion shall necessarily require.

Section 19.  No soldier shall be quartered in any house, in time of peace, 
without the consent of the owner; nor, in time of war, but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law.

Section 20.  The liberty of the press being essential to the security of 
freedom in a state, any person may publish his sentiments on any subject, 
being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials for libel, 
both civil and criminal, the truth, unless published from malicious motives, 
shall be sufficient defence to the person charged.

Section 21.  The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble for 
their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of 
government, for redress of grievances, or for other purposes, by petition, 
address, or remonstrance.

Section 22. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed.

Section 23.  The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed 
to impair or deny others retained by the people.
