Chapter 6

Pastor Jeff Evans, director of Church Ambassador Network an Initiative of Minnesota Family Council & Institute. I learned from Jeff that Philippians 1:27 (ESV), which reads “only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” actually means “only behave as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ.” See biblegateway.com.

“A letter of marque is permission to cross over the frontier into another country’s territory in order to take a ship; a letter of reprisal authorizes taking the captured vessel to the home port of the capturer.” Law Library—American Law and Legal Information, s.v. “Marque and Reprisal,” 2023.

Jesse M. Sumpter, in his book, A Short Introduction to Abraham Kuyper’s Lectures on Calvinism (Moscow, ID: Francis Drake Press, 2020), 27–28, notes an interesting conclusion based on prior works by Richard Hooker and C. S. Lewis as presented in Michael Ward’s Planet Narnia. They describe our universe as a constitutional monarchy: “The constitution of our universe is Scripture, especially the law of God which he gave his people at Sinai.” I refer to the law of God in chapter 2 as God’s Universal Law. Thus, “a constitution, like the U.S. Constitution, is an important feature of a government system. A constitution is not just a necessity brought about by sin but it is actually a design supported by God’s Word.”

“State constitutions are also important to examine because they often mirror important political, economic and social changes occurring over time. As states have moved from reflecting rural economies characterized principally by natural resource extraction in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (mining, timber, fisheries and agriculture), to governing urbanizing industrial economies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (manufacturing), to providing guidance to post-industrial and knowledge-based economies in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, citizens and their political representatives have made many revisions to their respective state constitutions—and even replaced them in their entirety when deemed necessary on rare occasion.” Christopher A. Simon, Brent S. Steel, and Nicholas P. Lovrich, State and Local Government and Politics: Prospects for Sustainability, sec. 5.A.

Another resource on state constitutions is G. Alan Tarr, Understanding State Constitutions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998).

Herbert Sydney Duncombe and Robert Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and in the Nation, 22.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 22.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 22.

“Other governmental institutions typically seen in state constitutions include the establishment of state offices and officials, including executive agencies and departments such as education, transportation, agriculture, fish and game, natural resources and the environment, attorney general, secretary of state, treasury, revenue, welfare (social services), health, civil service, various advisory boards, commissions, and governing boards for public colleges and universities. Typically, state constitutions also establish institutions such as state prisons, state mental health hospitals, state libraries, and state parks, and states provide for local school districts and other forms of local government-oriented entities to deal with such infrastructure matters as public utilities, irrigation, county roads and bridges, park and recreation facilities, local libraries and health clinics and hospitals.” Simon, Steel, and Lovrich, State and Local Government and Politics, sec. 5.C.

“There are three major methods available to change or amend U.S. state constitutions. The methods include a legislative proposal, a popular initiative, and a constitutional convention. A fourth method, only available in Florida, involves a constitutional commission submitting a proposal directly to the state’s voters for their consideration. Additionally, each state has the potential for a ‘virtual’ constitutional amendment through judicial re-interpretation of constitutional provisions. Of the four methods listed, only the constitutional convention provides elected officials an opportunity to collaborate in a deliberative setting on the entire constitution.” Simon, Steel, and Lovrich, State and Local Government and Politics, sec. 5.D.

A resource designed to help citizens be more informed about legislation regarding state agencies is Ballotpedia’s “Administrative State Legislation Tracker.” Consider starting at the FAQ page.

USHistory.org, “The House of Burgesses,” U.S. History Online Textbook, 2024.

USHistory.org. "The House of Burgesses." U.S. History Online Textbook. 2024.

The White House. "State and Local Government: Legislative Branch.".

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 80.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 80.

There is more information here about Oliver Cromwell and the term commonwealth that is very interesting: Ryland Barton, “Curious Louisville: Why Is Kentucky A Commonwealth?” Louisville Public Media, published July 21, 2017.

“Reapportionment . . . had been the responsibility of the Legislature prior to 1994, when an amendment to the Idaho Constitution was adopted creating an independent commission to reapportion starting in 2001 and thereafter.” “Idaho’s Citizen Legislature—The Membership,” Idaho State Legislature.

“Redistricting and the Supreme Court: The Most Significant Cases,” National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964)Significance: Both houses of a bicameral state legislature must be apportioned substantially according to population. Legislative districts may deviate from strict population equality only as necessary to give representation to political subdivisions and provide for compact districts of contiguous territory. Legislative districts should be redrawn to reflect population shifts at least every 10 years. Once a constitutional violation has been shown, a court should take equitable action to correct it, bearing in mind the practical requirements of running an election.Summary: Alabama Senate and House seats had not been reapportioned among the counties since 1903. 377 U.S. at 539–40. Each county had one or more senators and one or more representatives, regardless of population. According to the 1960 Census, the largest Senate district had about 41 times the population of the smallest Senate district, and the largest House district had about 16 times the population of the smallest House district. Id. at 545.Alabama attempted to justify the disparity in the Senate by analogy to the federal system, but the Supreme Court found that comparison to not be pertinent. Id. at 571–75. Justice Earl Warren declared, “Legislators represent people, not trees or acres.” Id. at 562.The Court held that “the Equal Protection Clause requires that the seats in both houses of a bicameral state legislature must be apportioned on a population basis.” Id. at 568.

Thomas Hunter, a political science professor at the University of West Georgia as quoted in the following article: Becky Little, “How Gerrymandering Began in the US,” History, updated August 7, 2023.

“Redistricting and the Supreme Court,” NCSL. Bush v. Vera, 517 U.S. 952 (1996)Significance: If you want to argue that partisan politics, not race, was your dominant motive in drawing district lines, beware of using race as a proxy for political affiliation. To survive strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause and avoid being struck down as a racial gerrymander, a district must be reasonably compact.Summary: Under the 1990 reapportionment of seats in Congress, Texas was entitled to three additional congressional districts. The Texas Legislature decided to draw one new Hispanic-majority district in South Texas, one new African-American-majority district in Dallas County, and one new Hispanic-majority district in the Houston area. In addition, the legislature reconfigured a district in the Houston area to increase its percentage of African Americans. The legislature used sophisticated software that allowed it to redistrict with racial data at the census block level. Plaintiffs challenged 24 of the state’s 30 congressional districts as racial gerrymanders. The Supreme Court struck down three districts, holding that race was the predominant factor in drawing the lines. In these districts, the court concluded that districts drawn to satisfy Section 2 of the VRA must not subordinate traditional redistricting principles more than reasonably necessary. The districts in question were in the courts words, ‘bizarrely shaped and far from compact.’ These characteristics were predominantly attributable to racially motivated gerrymandering.

“In Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964), this Court held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment includes a ‘one-person, one-vote’ principle. This principle requires that, ‘when members of an elected body are chosen from separate districts, each district must be established on a basis that will insure, as far as is practicable, that equal numbers of voters can vote for proportionally equal numbers of officials.’ Hadley v. Junior Coll. Dist. Of Metro. Kansas City, Mo., 397 U.S. 50, 56 (1970).” QP Report for Evenwel et al. v. Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. (2016), United States Supreme Court.

Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who! (New York: Random House, 1954).

“Redistricting and the Supreme Court,” NCSL. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964)Significance: The Court held that the constitutionality of congressional districts was a question that could be decided by the courts.Summary: Voters in Georgia’s Congressional District 5, which had three times the population of Congressional District 9, alleged that this imbalance denied them the full benefit of their right to vote. A three-judge federal district court held that drawing congressional districts was a task assigned by the Constitution to state legislatures, subject to guidance by Congress, and not assigned to the courts. The district court held that the complaint presented a “political question” the court had jurisdiction to decide, but should not. 376 U.S. at 2–3. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that congressional districts must be drawn so that “as nearly as is practicable one man’s vote in a congressional election is worth as much as another’s. Id. at 7–8.

“Redistricting and the Supreme Court,” NCSL. Miller v. Johnson, 515 U.S. 900 (1995)Significance: A district becomes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander if race was the “predominant” factor in the drawing of its lines.Summary: Following Shaw, it remained unclear what the standard of review was under the new racial gerrymandering doctrine. In Miller, the U.S. Department of Justice in 1991 refused preclearance to Georgia’s initial congressional redistricting plan under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act, claiming the state needed to create an additional majority-minority district. Plaintiffs challenged the newly drawn districts as racial gerrymanders. The Supreme Court held for the plaintiffs, and established the rule for racial gerrymandering claims: if a district is drawn predominantly on the basis of race, it violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Credit for these five categories is given to the website All About Redistricting sponsored by Loyola Law School.

“Redistricting Commissions: State Legislative Plans,” National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

A caucus is a convening of like-minded individuals in the state legislature (or in Congress). Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 86.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 85–86.

“Probably the most important function of the Legislature, appropriating money is carried out by passing bills which authorize units of government to spend money for specified purposes” Michigan Legislature, A Student’s Guide to the Legislative Process in Michigan, April 2023.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 82.

Except for Nebraska, which has a one-chamber legislature. See “Lawmaking in Nebraska,” Nebraska Legislature.

Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 93.

“Standing Committees,” sec. 4.1 in Inside the Legislative Process: A comprehensive survey by the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), revised September 2009, Table 96-4.1, 4-6.

“Parliamentary Procedure: A Legislator’s Guide,” National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), November 4, 2022.

“Standing Committees,” sec. 4.1 in Inside the Legislative Process: A comprehensive survey by the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL, 4-2.

New Jersey is the only state with one elected executive branch officeholder at the state level—the governor. G. Alan Tarr, Understanding State Constitutions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998), 17.

Here is a short foray into the word gubernatorial: Anne Curzan and Rebecca Kruth, “Here’s why we say ‘gubernatorial’ instead of ‘governatorial,’” Michigan Public, June 10, 2018.

The following eight points are summarized from Duncombe and Weisel, State and Local Government in Idaho and the Nation, 61–63.

National Governors Association. "Governors Powers and Authority." 2024.

National Governors Association. "Governors Powers and Authority." 2024.

“Roles in State Senates,” National Lieutenant Governors Association, September 2022.

Dan Schweitzer et al., “The Constitutional Role of the State Solicitor General,” March 24, 2023, produced by The National Constitution Center, video, 3:53.

“State Treasurers Count,” National Association of State Treasurers, data compiled as of December 31, 2020.

National Association of State Treasurers. "State Treasurers Count." December 31, 2020.

“Government 101: What Does a State Comptroller Do?” MasterClass, September 12, 2022.

MasterClass. "Government 101: What Does a State Comptroller Do?" September 12, 2022.

See Transparent Idaho (website), State of Idaho Controller’s Office.

Danielle Smyth, “What Are the Duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction?” Houston Chronicle, Chron., February 2, 2022.

“A person who robs a bank may be tried and convicted in state court for robbery, then tried and convicted in federal court for the federal offense of robbery of a federally-chartered [F.D.I.C.] savings institution.” Harvey Wallace, “Federal and State Jurisdiction.” chap. 2.1 in National Victim Assistance Academy, ed. Anne Seymour, et al., Office for Victims of Crime, 2000.

Judicial Learning Center. State Courts vs. Federal Courts. https://judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/, 2019.

“The State Court Structures” charts at the National Center for State Courts website (mentioned in chapter 4, “County-Equivalent Government”) are very helpful. Click on the desired state, and its court structure chart will appear. This website is convenient for comparing two or more states’ judicial structure. Of course, you can also search your own state, county, and city’s government websites.

“Common law: Defining what it is and what you need to know,” Thomson Reuters, November 15, 2022.

“You can be slightly over the limit during a DUI stop and get a misdemeanor, but if you have children in the car or are severely over the blood alcohol limit you can face a felony charge.” “What’s the Difference Between a Misdemeanor vs. Felony?” FindLaw, August 17, 2023.

“A state tax tribunal is a means to resolve state tax appeal controversies prior to litigation, and in a forum outside the dominion and control of the state tax authority.” “Chart of States with and without State Tax Tribunals (as of 6/2/20),” Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

Wallace, Harvey. "Federal and State Jurisdiction." In National Victim Assistance Academy, edited by Anne Seymour, Morna Murray, Jane Sigmon, Melissa Hook, Christine Edmonds, Mario Gaboury, and Grace Coleman. Office for Victims of Crime, 2000.

Wallace, Harvey. "Federal and State Jurisdiction." In National Victim Assistance Academy, edited by Anne Seymour, Morna Murray, Jane Sigmon, Melissa Hook, Christine Edmonds, Mario Gaboury, and Grace Coleman. Office for Victims of Crime, 2000.

Marx, Herbert L. State and Local Government. Reference Shelf Series, vol. 34, no 3, New York: Hw Wilson, 1962.

“Trial and intermediate appellate court judges in most states and in the federal judicial system are called judges, while those on the highest courts are justices. But that is not the case in New York, where some trial judges are known as justices, or in Texas, where intermediate appellate judges are called justices, and some of the highest court judges are judges.” Jason Boatright, “The History, Meaning, and Use of the Words Justice and Judge,” St. Mary’s Law Journal 49, no. 4 (August 2018): 727.

“Church Ambassador Network,” Minnesota Family Council. See also “Pulpits & Politics,” Minnesota Family Council.

“Treatment Courts: Special Feature,” U.S. Department of Justice.