Books & Beyond
Bringing Washington Constitutional Research to Your Computer By Mary Whisner The protections in the federal Bill of Rights are so familiar that we often refer to them by number: “first amendment freedoms,” “taking the fifth,” and so on. But Washington’s constitution also has important protections. Sometimes Washington’s Declaration of Rights addresses topics that are also addressed by the federal Bill of Rights (for instance, freedom of speech, religious freedom, and trial by jury). And sometimes there is no federal parallel (e.g., recall of elected officials, crime victims’ rights, the right to K-12 education). Even when Washington’s provisions have federal counterparts, they can be interpreted differently.
Twenty-five years ago Justice James A. Andersen
of the Washington State Constitutional Conven-
’51 set out six factors that lawyers should
tion, 1889, edited by Beverly Paulik Rosenow
brief when asking the courts to interpret the
’63. This volume, published in 1962 and reprinted
Washington State Constitution to extend rights
in 1999, includes an analytical index, prepared by
more broadly than the federal constitution does.
Quentin Shipley Smith, that examines the constitu-
State v. Gunwall, 106 Wn.2d 54, 61-62, 720
tion, section by section, printing each section, then
P.2d 708 (1986). The factors are: (1) the textual
referring to the Journal (which is chronological) and
language of the constitution; (2) textual differences
citing contemporary newspaper articles and later
between the federal and state constitution; (3)
secondary sources about the constitution. The work
state constitutional and common law history; (4)
of compiling the Journal was funded by the UW
preexisting state law; (5) differences in structure
School of Law and the History Department.
between the federal and state constitutions; and (6) matters of particular state interest or local concern.
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Retired Justice Robert F. Utter ’54 and Hugh D. Spitzer ’74 wrote The Washington State
Clearly, it’s important to learn about the history of
Constitution: A Reference Guide (2002), a book
our constitution. But unfortunately, no transcripts
that discusses each provision’s history and important
of the 1889 constitutional convention exist. There
cases interpreting it. There are also a number of law
were stenographers there, but Congress didn’t
review articles about the use of state constitutions
appropriate money to pay them, and their notes
generally and our constitution in particular.
are lost to history. The best way to learn about what
For many years, Spitzer has taught a course in
the delegates considered is to refer to The Journal
Washington state constitutional law. (Although state