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US Constitution was Re: Smolian re public records (NYT op ed)



On Sun, 24 Feb 2002 12:24:57 EST, Maarja Krusten <Maarja@AOL.COM> wrote:
 The following represents Mr. Smolian's views:
>We, the public, therefore think that all documentary materials not excluded
>by laws in place at the time the papers, etc., were created, should be
>accessible by the public.  I fail to see how, if this is true, that state
or
>city documents are exempt from the US Constitution.  If this is not the
case,
>then I share this confusion.
>

I think the confusion arises from the fact that most folks forget that the
United States is a federal republic made up of the 50 states. Amendment X
of the Constitution is the controlling factor.
<snip>
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or
to the people.
<snip>

In other words the states must delegate the power over state and city
documents to the federal government, something I doubt will occur anytime
soon. It is up to each state to define what records are public or private.
Granted most folks forget that Amendment X exists but it is still there.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html#articleiv

Peter Kurilecz
pakurilecz@aol.com

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