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Seattle University School of Law

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Articles 451 - 480 of 566

Full-Text Articles in Constitutional Law

Which Constitution? Eleven Years Of Gunwall In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer Jan 1998

Which Constitution? Eleven Years Of Gunwall In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer

Seattle University Law Review

This Article studies the problem of choosing constitutions-particularly the choice between applying the national Bill of Rights or a state constitution's declaration of rights. Many others have presented arguments for and against the independent application of a state's rights guarantees' or have classified and analyzed the various theories of state constitutionalism in the shadow of the United States Supreme Court. This examination focuses on practice rather than theory: specifically, how the Washington State Supreme Court has applied its formal doctrine on the role of the State's Declaration of Rights' and how that court has characterized and applied six criteria it …

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What Is Outrageous Government Conduct? The Washington State Supreme Court Knows It When It Sees It: State V. Lively, Matthew V. Honeywell Jan 1998

What Is Outrageous Government Conduct? The Washington State Supreme Court Knows It When It Sees It: State V. Lively, Matthew V. Honeywell

Seattle University Law Review

For the first time ever, the Supreme Court of Washington in State v. Lively overturned a criminal conviction because of outrageous government conduct. This decision employed a rarely-used, and even more infrequently successful, defense to achieve an apparently just result. Indeed, courts and scholars disagree on whether the defense, based on the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, actually exists and, if it does, how it applies to the facts of a given case. The U.S. Supreme Court has neither expressly and conclusively acknowledged nor disavowed the defense and has never employed it to overturn a criminal conviction. The …

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Methodology For Teaching Constitutional Law, Constance Frisby Fain Jan 1998

Methodology For Teaching Constitutional Law, Constance Frisby Fain

Seattle University Law Review

Teaching constitutional law concepts has become more exciting, interesting, and thorough by utilizing Barron, Dienes, McCormack, and Redish's Constitutional Law: Principles and Policy. The authors of this casebook are full professors of law who are distinguished experts in the field of constitutional law. Barron and Dienes are also coauthors of two study aid texts designed to supplement the casebook: a Nutshell Series outline and a Black Letter Series outline. These provide summaries of constitutional law intended to assist the student in recognizing and comprehending the principles and issues of law covered in this casebook and others. This Essay addresses …

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Combining The Best Of Gunther And Sullivan, James Weinstein Jan 1998

Combining The Best Of Gunther And Sullivan, James Weinstein

Seattle University Law Review

In the field of casebooks, there are few classics, but Gerald Gunther's Constitutional Law has long been viewed as one of them. More than twenty years ago it was heralded in the Harvard Law Review as "the Hart and Wechsler of constitutional law." After decades of solo authorship, Gunther is joined on the 13th edition by Kathleen Sullivan, who was primarily responsible for revising (among other sections) the chapters on freedom of expression. This partnership has succeeded in improving what was already perhaps the strongest section of the book. This Review examines the organization of the free expression materials, considers …

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Stone, Seidman, Sunstein & Tushnet's Constitutional Law: An Inclusive, Scholarly, And Comprehensive Constitutional Law Casebook, Sharon E. Rush Jan 1998

Stone, Seidman, Sunstein & Tushnet's Constitutional Law: An Inclusive, Scholarly, And Comprehensive Constitutional Law Casebook, Sharon E. Rush

Seattle University Law Review

In reviewing Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, & Tushnet's <em>Constitutional Law</em>, the author focuses on the casebook’s exploration of race to illustrate why she uses the book, and why she finds it valuable. The outstanding qualities of the book, however, are not limited to race. It provides excellent material on just about every possible area of discrimination law, as well as on the basics of separation of powers, federalism, and First Amendment issues. Inevitably, any textbook will be of limited use to a professor who has had time to reflect on the area of the law and who has perhaps written in …

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The Pedagogical Considerations Of Using A Constitutional Law Textbook In Political Science, Christopher P. Banks Jan 1998

The Pedagogical Considerations Of Using A Constitutional Law Textbook In Political Science, Christopher P. Banks

Seattle University Law Review

This Review first describes the importance of each consideration by analyzing how a two-volume constitutional law casebook, written by Professor David M. O'Brien of the Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia, can be admirably employed to teach the principle that constitutional law is, in fact, politics. Overall, the volumes are excellent undergraduate political science constitutional law texts. However, the casebook volumes have two flaws. First, they do not address the vital question of "what is political science?," a query that ought to be routinely asked by anyone teaching public law courses. Second, they …

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Overdue Process: Why Denial Of Physician-Prescribed Marijuana To Terminally Ill Patients Violates The United States Constitution, Matthew Segal Jan 1998

Overdue Process: Why Denial Of Physician-Prescribed Marijuana To Terminally Ill Patients Violates The United States Constitution, Matthew Segal

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment will begin with a brief history of the medical use of marijuana in western culture and the United States. It will then examine the existing federal statutory scheme governing the use of marijuana and conclude with a look at current beliefs about the medical value of marijuana. Section III will analyze previous attempts to collaterally attack the scheduling of marijuana through the courts and show why those efforts have generally failed. Section IV will perform a substantive due process analysis of William Cohen's case and submit that Mr. Cohen has a fundamental right to consult with his physician …

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Computer-Generated Child Pornography: A Legal Alternative?, Wendy L. Pursel Jan 1998

Computer-Generated Child Pornography: A Legal Alternative?, Wendy L. Pursel

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment does not debate the efficacy of the Child Pornography Prevention Act in accomplishing its purpose-the effective regulation of computer-generated images. Nor does this Comment address adult-simulated child pornography. Rather, working under the assumption that the statute accomplishes what it aims to accomplish-namely the regulation of computer-generated child pornography-this Comment looks beyond the statute and its language to the broader discussion of the value in regulating this type of material. Specifically, this Comment will focus on two issues: first, whether legislation regulating computer-generated child pornography can survive First Amendment considerations of free speech, and second, the social arguments made …

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A Constitutional Law Casebook For The 21st Century: A Critical Essay On Cohen And Varat, Bryan K. Fair Jan 1998

A Constitutional Law Casebook For The 21st Century: A Critical Essay On Cohen And Varat, Bryan K. Fair

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this essay is to review the strengths and weaknesses of the latest edition of Cohen and Varat’s Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials. After teaching from it for seven years, the author of this review states unequivocally that it is a first-rate teaching tool – unquestionably one of the leading, traditional casebooks, enabling thousands of law students throughout the country to gain some insight on a vast array of constitutional questions. Below, rather than simply describe the casebook's broad contents, the author illustrates how he uses it in a class of 65 to 100 students, meeting for …

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The Right Books For The "Rights" Course—A Review Of Four Civil Rights Casebooks, Stephen Shapiro Jan 1998

The Right Books For The "Rights" Course—A Review Of Four Civil Rights Casebooks, Stephen Shapiro

Seattle University Law Review

This essay originally started out as a review of Charles Abernathy's casebook, <em>Civil Rights and Constitutional Litigation</em>, which the author was using to teach his "Civil Rights Litigation" course at the University of Baltimore. Since at some point in his career the author has used three of the four major casebooks available to law faculty teaching Civil Rights (the Abernathy casebook, Eisenberg's <em>Civil Rights Legislation</em>, and Low and Jeffries's <em>Civil Rights Actions</em>), he decided to extend this review to all four books. All four are quite good, including the newest, Nahmod, Wells & Eaton's <em>Constitutional Torts</em>. They all differ, however, …

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In Memoriam: Ralph Seeley Obscured By Smoke: Medicinal Marijuana And The Need For Representation Reinforcement Review, Aryeh Y. Brown Jan 1998

In Memoriam: Ralph Seeley Obscured By Smoke: Medicinal Marijuana And The Need For Representation Reinforcement Review, Aryeh Y. Brown

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment contends that because of the continuing legislative inability to deal adequately with this issue the courts must apply strict judicial scrutiny by way of a representational reinforcement theory to cases concerning the medicinal use of marijuana. Failure to do so perpetuates the dysfunction of the judicial and legislative process. It additionally detracts from the legitimacy of that process by fostering cynicism and contempt toward the legislature that promulgates such oppressive laws and toward the judiciary that allows their enforcement.

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The Dream That Will Not Die: Martin Luther King, Jr., And The Continuing American Revolution, Henry Mcgee Jan 1998

The Dream That Will Not Die: Martin Luther King, Jr., And The Continuing American Revolution, Henry Mcgee

Faculty Articles

Professor Henry W. McGee, Jr. reviews Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, By David J. Garrow. Bearing the Cross depicts Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while neither a lawyer nor a judge, belonged in the pantheon of American constitutional giants. From the Gethsemane of an Alabama jail, Dr. King carried the cross of freedom to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and ultimately to his own crucifixion on the balcony of a Memphis motel. The story of how a black Baptist minister caused the Constitution to be applied to all Americans is one …

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Casebooks And Constitutional Competency, David E. Engdahl Jan 1998

Casebooks And Constitutional Competency, David E. Engdahl

Seattle University Law Review

Today's casebooks are far better adapted for fostering constitutional competency among lawyers than were their earlier counterparts. Part 1 of this Article traces the evolution of the constitutional law casebook from James Bradley Thayer's massive compilation of raw data in the Dean Langdell tradition, to the modern style of extensively edited cases with comments and questions to help students identify, anticipate, and assess potential avenues of analysis and development. Part 2 examines some basic concepts of federalism law still afforded too little attention by casebook editors. The classic analysis of enumerated powers (including Congress's power under the necessary and proper …

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Politics, Doctrinal Coherence, And The Art Of Treatise Writing, Edward Rubin Jan 1998

Politics, Doctrinal Coherence, And The Art Of Treatise Writing, Edward Rubin

Seattle University Law Review

Writing a treatise on constitutional law is both necessary and impossible. It is necessary because constitutional law, at least in the United States, is a common law subject. To be sure, it possesses a positive law basis, but that basis is very thin and the decisional law that has flowed from it is luxuriant and complex. Treatises organize and summarize bodies of decisional law, creating a coherent structure from the welter of incremental decisions, overlapping doctrines, and particularized holdings and dicta. Yet it is impossible to write a treatise about constitutional law. All treatises depend, for their effectiveness, upon a …

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Cases Versus Theory, Richard B. Collins Jan 1998

Cases Versus Theory, Richard B. Collins

Seattle University Law Review

Past reviewers have noted that the large modern market for American constitutional law casebooks was not served by much diversity in approaches to the subject. More recently there has been some divergence, and teachers have more choices. Cohen & Varat’s <em>Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials</em> has changed least in the intervening years and continues to serve its part of the market very well. Case editing is excellent, and selection is good. So if you liked the former standard, it remains a sound choice, and if you did not, you will have moved on. Notable differences among constitutional law casebooks fall …

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Problem Solving And Storytelling In Constitutional Law Courses, William A. Kaplin Jan 1998

Problem Solving And Storytelling In Constitutional Law Courses, William A. Kaplin

Seattle University Law Review

The author’s primary methods to teach Constitutional Law are problem solving and storytelling. He selected Farber, Eskridge, and Frickey’s Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century and continues to use it in part because it includes both stories and problems. The author also selected this particular casebook because it places the individual rights materials before the materials on federal powers. He wanted to experiment with this reversed order and thus far has been satisfied – largely because the rights materials engage student interest better than the powers materials. They also set a more contemporary and practical tone for the …

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Mastering Modern Constitutional Law, Thomas E. Baker Jan 1998

Mastering Modern Constitutional Law, Thomas E. Baker

Seattle University Law Review

Constitutional Law is “tough law.” It is tough to master – tough to teach and tough to learn. There are several reasons for this thorough difficulty. First, it is not an exaggeration to say that the fate of the nation is often at stake in constitutional cases and controversies, and constitutional decisions have shaped our history as a people. Second, we Americans can lay claim to inventing the field, and we have been continuously preoccupied with reinventing it for more than two centuries of applied political philosophy. Third, the Supreme Court is one of the most fascinating institutions inside or …

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The Quest To Find The Meaning Of The First Amendment, Mark C. Alexander Jan 1998

The Quest To Find The Meaning Of The First Amendment, Mark C. Alexander

Seattle University Law Review

Professor William Van Alstyne has been a prolific and influential scholar, discussing First Amendment questions throughout his career. He has authored dozens of law review articles that are frequently cited in varying contexts, including at least twenty cites in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. He also has done what few others have done with his scholarly agenda by writing consistently and powerfully on the major aspects of the First Amendment – Free Speech, Press, and Religion – and their interrelation. He has added to his numerous contributions by providing a thorough and insightful casebook, First Amendment Cases and Materials, which …

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Theme And Variations, Hugh D. Spitzer, Charles W. Johnson Jan 1998

Theme And Variations, Hugh D. Spitzer, Charles W. Johnson

Seattle University Law Review

State constitutions are worth the attention. They are, and have always been, different from the United States Constitution. Because state constitutions are typically easier to replace or amend than the United States Constitution, they reflect the political movements that have swept the country from time to time. As Professor Tarr has observed, provisions based in Jacksonian Democracy, Populism, and the Progressive movement have caused a "layering" in many state documents, which has affected both substance and interpretation." This makes the study of state constitutions interesting, and important too, because the themes might be similar from state to state, but the …

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Constitutional Conflicts: The Perils And Rewards Of Pioneering In The Law School Classroom, Derrick Bell Jan 1998

Constitutional Conflicts: The Perils And Rewards Of Pioneering In The Law School Classroom, Derrick Bell

Seattle University Law Review

The challenge in teaching Constitutional Law is to teach the doctrine while puncturing the myths. It is not an easy task. Americans treat the Constitution as a hallowed document created by men so divinely inspired that the document they produced in 1787 has been amended less than three dozen times. They might add that because of a number of factors, including those amendments, there are now only about 300 operative words in the Constitution, and that most litigation has centered about the meaning of a dozen or so terms: "due process," "cruel and unusual punishment," "commerce," "free exercise," "commander- in-chief," …

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The Violence Against Women Act Of 1994: Connecting Gender-Motivated Violence To Interstate Commerce, Judi L. Lemos Jan 1998

The Violence Against Women Act Of 1994: Connecting Gender-Motivated Violence To Interstate Commerce, Judi L. Lemos

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment explores whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari in the Brzonkala v. Virginia Polytech and State University, and whether the Court will uphold the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as a constitutional use of the commerce power. Part I explains the provisions of VAWA. Part II scrutinizes the development of Commerce Clause jurisprudence, which culminated in the Lopez decision. Part III analyzes the panel's Fourth Circuit ruling in Brzonkala. Part IV reviews the Supreme Court's handling of post-Lopez Commerce Clause cases and discusses whether the Court will grant certiorari to a challenge of VAWA's constitutionality. …

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Survey Of Washington Search And Seizure Law: 1998 Update, Justice Charles W. Johnson Jan 1998

Survey Of Washington Search And Seizure Law: 1998 Update, Justice Charles W. Johnson

Seattle University Law Review

This Survey, as did the previous Surveys, summarizes the predominant treatment of search and seizure issues under the Fourth Amendment and under article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution to the extent that this state's provision is interpreted differently from the federal provision. The Survey focuses primarily on substantive search and seizure law in the criminal context; it omits discussion of many procedural issues.

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Dropping Anchor: Defining A Search In Compliance With Article I, Section 7 Of The Washington State Constitution, Daniel J. Clark Jan 1997

Dropping Anchor: Defining A Search In Compliance With Article I, Section 7 Of The Washington State Constitution, Daniel J. Clark

Seattle University Law Review

Section II examines State v. Myrick itself, including the Washington Supreme Court's path that led to that decision, the facts of the case, its reasoning, and its holding. Section III discusses the reaction to and effects of Myrick, including the seemingly disingenuous and inconsistent cases that have followed Myrick. Section IV outlines a proposal that more precisely defines a search in Washington, discussing the sources of the proposed test, examining how it would help guide Washington courts, and explaining which cases would be decided differently using the proposed standard.

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Leaving Well Enough Alone—Why The "Would Have" Standard Works Well For Determining Pretext Stops In Washington State: A Critical Analysis Of The Whren Decision, Kelly Montgomery Jan 1997

Leaving Well Enough Alone—Why The "Would Have" Standard Works Well For Determining Pretext Stops In Washington State: A Critical Analysis Of The Whren Decision, Kelly Montgomery

Seattle University Law Review

This Note argues that the "could have" standard makes a mockery of the probable cause protections provided by the Fourth Amendment and that the Washington courts should not adopt that standard. Instead, because Washington courts have traditionally held that Article 1, Section 7, of the Washington Constitution provides broader protection than the Fourth Amendment of the Federal Constitution, the Washington courts should continue to use the "would have" standard to determine whether a stop is pretextual under Article 1, Section 7.11. Part II of this Note briefly describes the applicable search and seizure doctrine and tracks the split in the …

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Affirmative Action California Style—Proposition 209: The Right Message While Avoiding A Fatal Constitutional Attraction Because Of Race And Sex, L. Darnell Weeden Jan 1997

Affirmative Action California Style—Proposition 209: The Right Message While Avoiding A Fatal Constitutional Attraction Because Of Race And Sex, L. Darnell Weeden

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will analyze the Equal Protection Clause in relation to the government's ability to classify and will discuss whether race is a prohibited classification. The author will closely critique the case of Coalition For Economic Equity v. Wilson, which challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 209 because of its political burdens on interests important to racial minorities and women. The author will argue that Proposition 209's Equal Protection standard should be illicit state action rather than political burdens. Finally, the author will critique the Wilson court's understanding of violations of the Equal Protection Clause. This understanding is rejected here …

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Bridging The Analogy Gap: The Internet, The Printing Press And Freedom Of Speech, Jonathan Wallace, Michael Green Jan 1997

Bridging The Analogy Gap: The Internet, The Printing Press And Freedom Of Speech, Jonathan Wallace, Michael Green

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court will bring the highest degree of clarity to the Internet freedom of speech debate if, in ACLU v. Reno, it sets forth the operative metaphor for freedom of speech and applies the metaphor in conjunction with an appropriate analogy for the technology.Part I of this Article discusses judicial decision-making tools with an emphasis on the use of analogy and the importance of applying legal precedents in a manner which is consistent and logical. Part I also discusses the use of metaphor in judicial decisionmaking and illustrates how operative metaphors for free speech have served to provide …

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Double Jeopardy—Civil Forfeitures And Criminal Punishment: Who Determines What Punishments Fit The Crime, Barbara A. Mack Jan 1996

Double Jeopardy—Civil Forfeitures And Criminal Punishment: Who Determines What Punishments Fit The Crime, Barbara A. Mack

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will attempt to distill from this confusion a meaningful double jeopardy policy, applicable to parallel civil and criminal proceedings, that takes into account the history of double jeopardy, recent changes in statutory law, and the contemporary chaotic state of parallel civil and criminal proceedings. Under current law, double jeopardy protects against three abuses: (1) a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, (2) a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and (3) multiple punishments for the same offense. This Article will show that the multiple punishments prong has little basis in law, other than reliance …

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Product Liability Law In The Federal Arena, Sherman Joyce Jan 1996

Product Liability Law In The Federal Arena, Sherman Joyce

Seattle University Law Review

The law of product liability has been created by state judges and legislatures. Although not widely noticed, this tradition changed when Congress enacted the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994. That legislation established an eighteen-year statute of repose for claims brought by non-commercial passengers injured or killed in accidents involving light aircraft. Until that time, product liability law had been exclusively a function of state law. Nevertheless, product liability reform legislation has been the subject of extensive examination and scrutiny by Members of the United States Congress for one and a half decades. This Article analyzes the constitutional underpinnings for …

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When The Constable Blunders: A Comparison Of The Law Of Police Interrogation In Canada And The United States, Robert Harvie, Hamar Foster Jan 1996

When The Constable Blunders: A Comparison Of The Law Of Police Interrogation In Canada And The United States, Robert Harvie, Hamar Foster

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the Supreme Court of Canada's use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in limiting police interrogations and compares its case decisions with cases from the Supreme Court of the United States. Part II of this Article examines the purposes and policies underlying sections 10(b), 7, and 24(2) of the Charter. Part III then examines the application of sections 10(b) and 7 in situations where (1) suspects are interrogated by uniformed police officers or other persons known to be in authority, and (2) suspects are interrogated surreptitiously by persons not known to be in authority. In both …

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The Denial Of A State Constitutional Right To Bail In Juvenile Proceedings: The Need For Reassessment In Washington State, Kathleen A. Baldi Jan 1996

The Denial Of A State Constitutional Right To Bail In Juvenile Proceedings: The Need For Reassessment In Washington State, Kathleen A. Baldi

Seattle University Law Review

Article I, section 20 of the Washington Constitution states that "[a]ll persons charged with crimes shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident, or the presumption great." Despite seemingly unequivocal language that this constitutional provision is applicable to "all persons," the Washington Supreme Court, in Estes v. Hopp, declared that juveniles do not have a constitutional right to bail. The Estes court engaged in little constitutional analysis, but instead, reasoned that juvenile proceedings are civil in nature and that article 1, section 20 applies only in criminal proceedings. Central to the Estes …

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