Declaration of Rights

E27309

constitutional bill of rights section of a state constitution

The Declaration of Rights is the section of the Massachusetts Constitution that sets out fundamental civil liberties and principles of government, serving as a bill of rights for the state's citizens.

Aliases (1)

Declaration of Rights (Massachusetts) ×48

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional bill of rights → section of a state constitution →
adoptedOn	1780 →
appliesToJurisdiction	Commonwealth of Massachusetts →
author	John Adams →
containsPrinciple	checks and balances → government by consent of the governed → popular sovereignty → rule of law → separation of powers →
country	United States of America →
draftedBy	Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780 →
enforcedBy	Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts →
follows	natural rights philosophy →
function	guarantees fundamental civil liberties → serves as bill of rights for citizens of Massachusetts → sets out basic principles of government →
guaranteesRight	due process of law → equal protection of the laws → freedom of religion → freedom of speech → freedom of the press → protection against cruel or unusual punishments → protection against unreasonable searches and seizures → right to assemble → right to petition the government → right to trial by jury →
hasLegalEffect	binding on all branches of Massachusetts state government →
hasPart	Article I of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights → Article II of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights → subsequent numbered articles defining specific rights →
influenced	United States Bill of Rights → other U.S. state constitutions →
inspiredBy	English Bill of Rights of 1689 → Virginia Declaration of Rights →
language	English →
legalStatus	binding constitutional law →
location	Preamble and Part the First of the Massachusetts Constitution →
partOf	Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts →
prohibits	bills of attainder → ex post facto laws → hereditary offices →
recognizes	right to be secure in persons, houses, papers, and possessions → right to bear arms subject to regulation →
states	all people are born free and equal →
subject	civil liberties → human rights → structure of government →

Referenced by (2)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Constitution of Florida → Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts →	contains