For the political and legal system to operate properly, all their elements should align. Although U.S. states have large autonomy and have their own constitutions, they should not contradict the federal U.S. Constitution, including the first ten amendments to it – the Bill of Rights. The former outlines responsibilities and rights of different branches of power and the latter contains a list of basic human rights. If the state constitution contradicts the federal one, it might signal a lack of unity and democracy within the country. The paper aims to analyze Article I of the Florida Constitution in terms of its correspondence to the U.S. Constitution and, specifically, the Bill of Rights.
Each article of the Constitution of the State of Florida covers different legal aspects. Article I contains the declaration of rights guaranteed to all the state’s citizens and is presented in 27 sections (The Florida Senate). The present analysis will focus on the three of them: religious freedom, rights of accused and of victims, right of privacy. Each of them is presented in separate sections of Article I.
Religious freedom is one of the basic rights that ensures democracy. It is enshrined in Article I’s Section 3 of the Florida Constitution, which states that no law will make people follow any religion or prohibit or penalize its free exercise (The Florida Senate). It corresponds to Amendment I of the Bill of Rights (U.S. Senate). Moreover, the Florida Constitution highlights that “religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety” (The Florida Senate). Thus, in terms of religious freedom, the Florida Constitution aligns with the Bill of Rights and has an important additional note.
The rights of the accused and of crime victims describe the rights of those involved in criminal prosecutions. They are enumerated in Article I’s Section 16 (The Florida Senate). Firstly, the section states that the accused must “be informed of the nature of the accusation,” have the right to present witnesses, confront adverse witnesses, and have a speedy, public, and impartial trial (The Florida Senate). It corresponds to Amendment VI to the U.S. Constitution, where the same rights are enumerated (U.S. Senate). Section 16 has been recently amended to emphasize and ensure the victim’s rights (Cassell & Garvin, 2020). Now, it guarantees the protection of crime victims’ rights and interests, which includes safety, privacy, respect for their dignity, protection from the accused, and all forms of abuse (The Florida Senate). Surprisingly, the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly cover this aspect.
Another important right, vital for maintaining democracy, is the right of privacy. It is enshrined in Section 23 of the Florida Constitution (The Florida Senate). It ensures that all citizens have “the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein” (The Florida Senate). This right was included in the Florida Constitution via the Privacy Amendment approved in 1980 (Skinner, 2020). This right was used for support in promoting the Death with Dignity Act in favor of physician-assisted suicide (Skinner, 2020). U.S. Constitution does not have the corresponding section, and other states may have different laws in this regard.
In conclusion, the Constitution of the State of Florida generally aligns with the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which shows that the state shares the same basic democratic values as all Americans. They include religious freedom and the rights of the accused during a criminal prosecution. However, as with other state constitutions, it presents an extended set of rights and guidelines specifically for its citizens. For instance, it offers a detailed list of crime victims’ rights and explicitly formulated right of privacy, absent in the U.S. Constitution.