What a privilege it is to celebrate Constitution Day! On this day 232 years ago, our Founders gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Constitution – setting in motion a system of government that would safeguard liberty, create conditions for prosperity and promote the cultivation of virtue.
The role that state courts play in protecting our constitutional rights is often overlooked. When Americans go to court, the vast majority go to a state court. In fact, state courts handle approximately 95% of the nation’s judicial workload. Most people seeking legal relief never have their case reviewed by a federal court, even in weighty matters like criminal cases or the termination of parental rights. As a result, the state courts – which are required to apply federal law as well as state law – are where federal constitutional rights are often enforced.
Our Founders understood the importance of the state courts and incorporated them into the constitutional design. At the Constitutional Convention, our Founders debated whether the Constitution should require the creation of federal courts below the U.S. Supreme Court. They ultimately reached the “Madisonian Compromise,” agreeing that Article III of the Constitution would empower, but not require, Congress to create lower federal courts. Our Founders were able to reach that agreement because they understood that, regardless of what Congress chose to do, the state courts would continue to be a strong force in our nation for the preservation of liberty.
At some points in American history, the state courts have been better defenders of liberty than the federal courts. For example, early state court decisions turned back the eugenics movement by upholding federal constitutional guarantees. That threat continued to be held at bay until the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to forced sterilization in Buck v. Bell – an infamous decision that now stands in disrepute. In the 19th century, state courts provided strong resistance to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, a federal law that required escaped slaves to be returned as property. Of course, state courts have also failed at times to protect constitutional rights, but those shortcomings do not diminish the duty that state courts have to uphold and protect those rights.
The state courts have a central role in protecting our values – and I take that role seriously as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama. I hope you will join me today in giving thanks for the Constitution and the wisdom of our Founders in adopting that magnificent document.
Jay Mitchell is an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Alabama.
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