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The Constitution Of The Northern Mariana Islands: Does A Different Cultural Setting Justify Different Constitutional Standards?, James A. Branch, Jr.

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of this paper is to examine certain constitutional questions that have recently been raised by Howard Willens and Deanne Siemer on the constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands. Essentially, Willens and Siemer take the position that certain constitutional "innovations" are justified in a United States territory, such as the Northern Marianas, which these authors argue have different social and economic values than the mainland. The soundness of these innovations needs to be examined. To do this, this paper will question, first, the concept of "incorporation" as a constitutional doctrine in the modern world. Second, turning to the Northern …