I.
Interstate Relations
A.
Full Faith and Credit
a.
Each state must recognize the laws and legal
proceedings of other states.
b.
One state cannot enforce another state’s
criminal law.
c.
Judicial decisions in civil matters in one state
will be honored and enforced in all states.
B.
Privileges and Immunities
a.
The constitution provides that “the citizens of
each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in
several states.”
b.
Although the courts have never given a complete
listing of these privileges and immunities, some included are the rights to
pass through or live in any state; use the courts; make contracts; buy, sell,
and hold property, and marry (if you’re straight, excluding the growing bit of
America that legalized gay marriage).
c.
If you’re not a state resident, you cannot vote,
serve on juries, or use certain public facilities.
d.
Nonresidents of a state do not have the same
right to attend publicly supported institutions.
C.
Extradition
a.
Helps keep states from protecting fugitives.
b.
Congress has made the governor of the state to
which the fugitives have fled responsible for returning them.
c.
Congress has acted to close the extradition
loophole by making it a federal crime to flee from one state to another in
order to avoid prosecution for a felony.
D.
Interstate Compacts
a.
The
constitution requires states to settle their difference with one another
without using force.
b.
Interstate compacts are written agreements
between two or more states.
c.
Interstate compacts have become an important way
for the states to deal with regional problems without resorting to national
government intervention.
E.
Lawsuits Between States
a.
Lawsuits between states are heard in the US
Supreme Court, the only court in which one state may sue another.
b.
Cases often include water rights and boundary lines.
II.
Admission of New States
A.
Congress Admits New States
a.
The constitution give congress the power to
admit new states to the union.
b.
No state may be formed by taking territory from
one or more states without the consent of the states involved and of congress.
c.
The president can veto Acts of admission.
d.
The process begins when Congress passes an
enabling act. This act, when signed by the president, enables the people of the
territory to prepare a constitution, and submits it to congress. If congress
approves, the territory becomes a state.
B.
Conditions for Admission
a.
Congress or the president may impose certain
conditions before admitting a new state, including requiring changes in the
drafted constitution submitted by a territory.
b.
Once the state is admitted, those conditions may
be enforced only if they do not interfere with the new state’s authority to
manage its own internal affairs like any other state.
C.
Equality of the states
a.
Once admitted to the union, each state is equal
to the rest.
b.
No state has more privileges/fewer obligations
than any other.
c.
Each state is legally separate from every other
state in the Union.
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