Preamble to the Constitution of Georgia (U.S. state)
January 01, 1970
The Preamble to the Georgia State Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles which the Constitution is meant to serve. It expresses in general terms the intentions of its authors and is sometimes referred by the courts.
To perpetuate the principles of free government, insure justice to all, preserve peace, promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family, and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty, we the people of Georgia, relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution.[1]
Meaning and applicationedit
The Preamble does not assign any powers to the state government or provide specific limitations on government action. Despite the limited nature of the Preamble it has been cited in the courts. For example, the Preamble was cited in the cases of Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca, Dixon v. Dixon, Clabough v. Rachwal and Arnold v. Arnold.[2][3]
Judicial relevanceedit
Examplesedit
An instance of the courts utilizing the Preamble to the Constitution is Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca 249 Ga. 348 (1982). The case concerned an ad valorem tax dispute between Fulton County's tax authority and the Ravenwood Church of Wicca. Primarily, this issue was centered around the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment regarding whether or not the Ravenwood Church of Wicca was a religion and, thus, exempt from the ad valorem tax. The majority of the justices concurred, barring Chief Justice C.J. Jordan and Justice J. Clarke. The former based his dissent on the portion of the Preamble which states "relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God" and went on to define God as "the Being perfect in power, wisdom and goodness whom men worship as creator and ruler of the universe."[4]
In the case of Dixon v. Dixon, 183 Ga. 756 (1987) the portion of the Preamble stating, "promote the interest and happiness ... of the family" was cited in a dissent by Judge J. Beasley.[5] Dixon v. Dixon was a child custody case wherein the mother was allegedly "cohabiting with a man to whom she is not married while the child is living with her," and the father sought custody based on her actions.[5] The majority assent claimed that there was enough evidence to warrant a change of custody. However, Judge Beasley's dissent focused on his opinion that the evidence gathered concerning such cohabitation was "speculative".[5]
Arnold v. Arnold, 189 Ga. App. 101 (1988), was a case concerning parental immunity, as it applied to the family immunity doctrine, brought before the Coweta Superior Court.[6] In Arnold v. Arnold, the question of whether one sibling could legally sue another was asked and the portion of the Preamble stating "To ... promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family, ... we the people of Georgia ... do ordain and establish this Constitution" was quoted in reference to an earlier case, Clabough v. Rachwal.[6] The court found that, in this case, the family immunity doctrine was not applicable.[7]
Referencesedit
^Constitution of Georgia: Preamble, Accessed January 21, 2009
^The Georgia Constitution: A Reference Guide By Melvin B. Hill, Accessed December 22, 2008
^The Georgia Constitution: A Reference Guide By Melvin B. Hill, Accessed January 21, 2009
^ROBERTS et al. v. RAVENWOOD CHURCH OF WICCA; and vice versa 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed January 21, 2009
preamble, constitution, georgia, state, preamble, georgia, state, constitution, brief, introductory, statement, fundamental, purposes, guiding, principles, which, constitution, meant, serve, expresses, general, terms, intentions, authors, sometimes, referred, . The Preamble to the Georgia State Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles which the Constitution is meant to serve It expresses in general terms the intentions of its authors and is sometimes referred by the courts Contents 1 Text 2 Meaning and application 2 1 Judicial relevance 2 1 1 Examples 3 References 4 See alsoText editTo perpetuate the principles of free government insure justice to all preserve peace promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty we the people of Georgia relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God do ordain and establish this Constitution 1 Meaning and application editThe Preamble does not assign any powers to the state government or provide specific limitations on government action Despite the limited nature of the Preamble it has been cited in the courts For example the Preamble was cited in the cases of Roberts v Ravenwood Church of Wicca Dixon v Dixon Clabough v Rachwal and Arnold v Arnold 2 3 Judicial relevance edit Examples edit An instance of the courts utilizing the Preamble to the Constitution is Roberts v Ravenwood Church of Wicca 249 Ga 348 1982 The case concerned an ad valorem tax dispute between Fulton County s tax authority and the Ravenwood Church of Wicca Primarily this issue was centered around the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment regarding whether or not the Ravenwood Church of Wicca was a religion and thus exempt from the ad valorem tax The majority of the justices concurred barring Chief Justice C J Jordan and Justice J Clarke The former based his dissent on the portion of the Preamble which states relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God and went on to define God as the Being perfect in power wisdom and goodness whom men worship as creator and ruler of the universe 4 In the case of Dixon v Dixon 183 Ga 756 1987 the portion of the Preamble stating promote the interest and happiness of the family was cited in a dissent by Judge J Beasley 5 Dixon v Dixon was a child custody case wherein the mother was allegedly cohabiting with a man to whom she is not married while the child is living with her and the father sought custody based on her actions 5 The majority assent claimed that there was enough evidence to warrant a change of custody However Judge Beasley s dissent focused on his opinion that the evidence gathered concerning such cohabitation was speculative 5 Arnold v Arnold 189 Ga App 101 1988 was a case concerning parental immunity as it applied to the family immunity doctrine brought before the Coweta Superior Court 6 In Arnold v Arnold the question of whether one sibling could legally sue another was asked and the portion of the Preamble stating To promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family we the people of Georgia do ordain and establish this Constitution was quoted in reference to an earlier case Clabough v Rachwal 6 The court found that in this case the family immunity doctrine was not applicable 7 References edit Constitution of Georgia Preamble Accessed January 21 2009 The Georgia Constitution A Reference Guide By Melvin B Hill Accessed December 22 2008 The Georgia Constitution A Reference Guide By Melvin B Hill Accessed January 21 2009 ROBERTS et al v RAVENWOOD CHURCH OF WICCA and vice versa Archived 2008 10 15 at the Wayback Machine Accessed January 21 2009 a b c Dixon v Dixon Accessed January 21 2009 a b Arnold v Arnold Archived 2008 07 18 at the Wayback Machine Accessed March 22 2009 Arnold v Arnold Archived 2008 10 07 at the Wayback Machine Accessed March 22 2009See also editPreamble Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Preamble to the Constitution of Georgia U S state amp oldid 1178302408, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
