Just received an e-mail announcing the release of a new book -
To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights: A Citizen’s Guide to the Washington Constitution, Article I
By Jonathan Bechtle & Michael Reitz
Book Description
In order to improve public awareness of the fundamental rights we all enjoy, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has published To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights: A Citizen’s Guide to the Washington Constitution, Article I. The book is written by EFF attorneys Jonathan Bechtle and Michael Reitz. To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights is a reference guide to the state Declaration of Rights, found in the Washington Constitution. The authors review the state’s 1889 constitutional debates, newspaper accounts of the convention, and significant cases that have dealt with the rights guaranteed in the state constitution. The book, with a foreword by Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles Johnson, urges citizens to become familiar with the state constitution, as individual rights are often afforded greater protection from the state constitution than from the U.S. Constitution. “When citizens are educated in the sources of their freedoms, and familiar with attempts in history to limit these freedoms, they are better equipped to recognize new encroachments.”
Praise for the Book
“The 75 delegates who drafted and ratified Washington’s Constitution on July 4, 1889, understood the need to carefully articulate the rights of our citizens—and just as importantly, to codify limits to the state government’s authority to infringe on those rights. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation should be commended for this clear guide to our Constitution, providing a concise reference guide which will enable Washington's people, from whom the government derives its power, to guard their rights from future challenges.”
Rob McKenna
Attorney General of Washington
“I know and appreciate the incredible amount of thought, research and work necessary to produce this citizen’s guide. The authors are to be commended for their efforts in putting this work together. Those who read and use this guide can be thankful for the time and energy spent on organizing and publishing it.”
Associate Chief Justice Charles W. Johnson
Washington State Supreme Court
“The inspiring words of our Declaration of Rights, and sometimes less inspiring court decisions which implement them, are the subject of this wonderful little book. To ensure our Declaration of Rights is not rendered, in the words of James Madison, a ‘mere demarcation on parchment,’ we must rely on an independent judiciary which, again in the words of Madison, ‘will be an impenetrable bulwark against every assumption of power in the legislature or executive.’ Since our constitution also provides we elect our judiciary, and ultimate sovereignty resides in our people, the wisdom of this book serves as a high standard against which we ought to judge our judges.”
Justice Richard B. Sanders
Washington Supreme Court
Product Details
Paperback: 116 pages
Publisher: EFF Productions (June 2008)
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-615-21232-6
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x .5 inches
Price: $9.95 (plus tax & shipping)
To place an order please contact:
Evergreen Freedom Foundation
P.O. Box 552
Olympia, WA 98507
360.956.3482 •
http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php?number=530
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