The NJ Constitution and Your Practice

“The cornerstone of our state government is our state constitution. All state governmental action, whether it be executive, legislative or judicial, must conform to this organic law. Even though governmental action is generally clothed with a presumption of legality, the judiciary, which is the final arbiter of what the constitution means, must strike down governmental action which offends a constitutional provision.”
– Chief Justice Richard J. Hughes (1977)

New Jersey’s Constitution has gone through various changes. Its constitutional history has impacted state and local governmental institutions greatly. The 1947 New Jersey Constitution is viewed as a class of its own. It is recognized and viewed nationally as a model state constitution. “Although we have adopted a few constitutional amendments, we have not altered the basic streamlined structure adopted in 1947,” says Professor Robert F. Williams of Rutgers University School of Law.

Purchase this informative program to learn about the history of NJ’s constitution, some of the important research strategies as well as constitutional claims which pertain to it.

Topics include:

• What are the potential state constitutional arguments when evaluating clients’ potential claims?


• State constitutions generally


• Increased importance of state constitutions post-Dobbs


• NJ Constitution in particular


• History


• NJ constitutional claims that have been/could be brought


• Two kinds of constitutional challenges


• Individual Rights


• Separation of Powers


• Special Legislation


• Public finance


• Research Strategies