The Rhode Island State Constitution: A Reference Guide

The historical evolution of the Rhode Island Constitution is outlined in this comprehensive volume. Each section of the Rhode Island Consitiution is analyzed completely. The authors also offer a detalied historigraphical essay as a guide to further research and study. Any student and practitioner of Rhode Island constitutional development will understand the importance of such a thorough study. Unlike any other reference guides, the unique historical analysis of the constitution bridges the gap between past, present, and future law. From the Royal Charter of 1663, through the Constitution of 1986, Flanders and Conley navigate through the law to paint an extensive picture of Rhode Island's interesting history.

About the Author :
Patrick T. Conley was Professor of History and Constitutional Law at Providence College for thirty years. He is an attorney in Rhode Island and has handled more than forty Supreme Court appeals since 1979. Conley was a research advisor to the Constitutional Convention and was a draftsman and sponsor of present Article XIV and Article IV, Section 9. He holds a doctorate in History from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from Suffolk University. Robert G. Flanders, Jr. is a former Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, where he served for eight years before returning to the private practice of law in 2004. He is a partner in the Providence-based law firm of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, LLP. He serves as an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at Brown University, where he teaches Constitutional Law, and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Roger Williams University, where he teaches courses on the Judicial Process. Judge Flanders is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Brown University.

Review :
"By American standards Rhode Island has a long history of constitutional governance. Beginning in 1636, Rhode Island colonial or independent constitutions have been shaped by revolution, nation-building, tumult, Republican control in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Democratic control in the middle to late years of the twentieth century, and further changes wrought by everything from neoliberalism to gay rights. The result has been living document reflecting, at various times, strict religious liberty but also suppression of the right to vote. Conley and Flanders, a former associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court now in private practice, describe the fascinating history of Rhode Island's constitutional choices and an article-by-article analysis of the document as it now reads." - Reference & Research Book News "[D]elves into history, cites and indexes hundreds of state and federal Supreme Court decisions, critiques rulings, evaluates the state's contribution to America's legal system, and suggests changes for the future." - The Providence Journal