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The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions , it is supreme over Virginia's laws and acts of government, though it may be superseded by the United States ...
The foremost source of state law is the Constitution of Virginia. It provides the process for enacting all state legislation, as well as defining the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the people of Virginia. The Virginia Constitution has had six major revisions, as well as many amendments.
Articles 1–3 address the subject of rights and the relationship between government and the governed. Article 1 states that "all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights of which ... they cannot deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining ...
The Fifth Virginia Convention was a meeting of the Patriot legislature of Virginia held in Williamsburg from May 6 to July 5, 1776. This Convention declared Virginia an independent state and produced its first constitution and the Virginia Declaration of Rights .
The judiciary of Virginia is defined under the Constitution and law of Virginia and is composed of the Supreme Court of Virginia and subordinate courts, including the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts, and the General District Courts. Its administration is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Council, the Committee ...
Unlike the Pennsylvania Convention where the Federalists railroaded the Anti-federalists in an all or nothing choice, in the Virginia Convention the Federalists made efforts to reconcile with the Anti-federalists by recommending amendments to the Federal Constitution like that of Virginia's Bill of Rights preamble to its 1776 Constitution. [30]
The Constitution's other innovation was allowing the governor to veto laws passed by the legislature. That proved problematic in the following decades, since the first legislature after adoption of the Constitution adopted measures reaffirming Virginia's prewar debt, at those interest rates (much higher than postwar) and other favorable terms.
The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the US Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of the Founding Fathers' intentions regarding the Constitution's meaning and what they hoped the ...