I mentioned that the Constitution of Indiana forbids suspension of the operation of the laws other than by the authority of the General Assembly -- the body in which the legislative power of the state is vested. Considering that the legislative power can be used to create or add to the statute law of the state, or to amend it, or to expunge parts of it (if the General Assembly chooses to do so), it makes sense that the power to temporarily mute or modify the effect of a provision of law would belong to the General Assembly itself.
This conclusion would be unavoidable even if the Indiana Constitution's Bill of Rights (Article 1 of the constitution) did not explicitly forbid suspension of the operation of the laws by any other authority. It is among the principal settled doctrines defining the republican form of government as known to America that the legislative power may not be used without the consent of the representatives of the people in their legislative assembly. However, I will provide some information about the history of Article 1, Section 26 of the Indiana Constitution in order to intercept and correct an error that I would otherwise expect many people to be tempted to make -- thinking that the rule imposed by Section 26 of Indiana's Bill of Rights is an unimportant, trifling provision that happened to find its way into our constitution but which nobody ever really even know or cared about. (Believing that might make it easier for some people to justify to themselves willfully disregarding and directly violating it.)
The appearance of rules against any power of suspending the laws (or the execution of them) in American constitutions began around the beginning of the independence of the newly United States, which states had before that time been (as everyone reading this presumably knows) English colonies. Though the American Revolution did result in independence, it began with Americans of these colonies attempting to vindicate rights that they understood the laws of England to have guaranteed to them. It consequently can be no surprise that when the time came for these Americans to form their own governments and laws, they made an effort to protect these rights for themselves.
In English law, it was the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (sometimes dated to 1688 for technical reasons that are not worth explaining) that explicitly established protection from the suspension of laws. Many parts of the English Bill of Rights responded to and were meant to prohibit in the future the exercise of powers that had been assumed by James II, a king of England whose reign had very recently ended -- powers which Parliament alone could lawfully possess. Among these were the powers to dispense with or suspend the laws or their execution. One part of the English Bill of Rights is a list of grievances against England's former king, and among the ways it identifies in which that king had wronged the kingdom, the Bill of Rights names, "By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws and the execution of laws without consent of Parliament".
A different part of the English Bill of Rights is a declaration of rights, or a declaration of some of the laws of England in relation to rights. This part of the Bill of Rights also condemns as illegal the powers to dispense with or suspend the laws without consent of the legislature: "...That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;" and "...That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal".
The American Declaration of Independence condemned a similar offense in 1776, though the grievance in that case had (quickly) grown more severe: “For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever”....
Beginning in the spring of 1776, these former colonies began to create state constitutions to govern themselves. Following independence and the creation of the United States Constitution, they were joined by additional new states which likewise created for themselves new state constitutions. The following are all of the state constitutional provisions that I found concerning the suspension of laws (up through the year 1842). From this point, there is little that I can add through narration, so I will just list the following American state constitutional provisions. They are grouped by state.
Delaware declaration of rights, 1776. "Sect. 7. That no power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, ought to be exercised unless by the Legislature."
Delaware Declaration of Rights, 1792. "Article I. Section 10. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, but by authority of the legislature."
Pennsylvania, 1790. "Article IX. Of suspending laws. Sect. XII. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the legislature, or its authority."
Pennsylvania, 1838. "Article IX. Suspending laws. Section XII. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the legislature, or its authority."
Massachusetts, 1780. "Art. XX. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the legislature shall expressly provide for."
Maryland, 1776. "VII. That no power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, unless by or derived from the Legislature, ought to be exercised or allowed."
New Hampshire, 1783. "XXIX. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority derived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for."
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776. "VII. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority without consent of the representatives of the people is injurious to their rights and ought not to be exercised."
North Carolina, 1776. "V. That all powers of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the Representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
Vermont, 1786. "XVII. The power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws ought never to be exercised, but by the Legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for."
Vermont, 1793. "Article XV. The power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases, as this constitution, or the legislature, shall provide for."
Kentucky, 1792. "Article XII. XIV. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature or its authority."
Kentucky, 1798. "Article VI. 14. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature or its authority."
Ohio, 1803. "Article VIII. Sec 9. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature."
Louisiana, 1812. "Article VI. Sec. 17. No power of suspending the laws of this state shall be exercised, unless by the legislature or its authority."
Indiana, 1816. "Article I. Sect. 6th. That no power of suspending the operation of the laws, shall be exercised, except by the Legislature, or its authority."
Mississippi, 1817. "Article I. Section 15. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised except by the Legislature or its authority."
Mississippi, 1832. "Article I. Sect. 15. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the legislature, or its authority."
Alabama, 1819. "Article I. SEC. 15. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the General Assembly, or its authority."
Maine, 1820. "Article I. Sect. 13. The laws shall not be suspended but by the legislature or its authority."
In addition to the relevant provisions from these state constitutions, I also include the following requests for an amendment (which are nearly identical to each other) to the United States Constitution; these requests were made by conventions called in Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island to consider ratification of the Constitution. Obviously, no such amendment to the United States Constitution was ever made, but anyone with a sincere interest in the meaning or the importance of the corresponding provision in the present-day Indiana Constitution should give them the attention that they are due.
Virginia Ratification, commentary and proposal, 1788. "Seventh, That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
North Carolina Convention, Requesting Amendments but Declining to Immediately Ratify, Declaration of Rights, 1789. "7th. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws by any authority without the consent of the representatives, of the people in the Legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Ratification, declaration of rights, 1790. "7th That all power of suspending laws or the execution of laws, by any authority without the consent of the representatives of the people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
This conclusion would be unavoidable even if the Indiana Constitution's Bill of Rights (Article 1 of the constitution) did not explicitly forbid suspension of the operation of the laws by any other authority. It is among the principal settled doctrines defining the republican form of government as known to America that the legislative power may not be used without the consent of the representatives of the people in their legislative assembly. However, I will provide some information about the history of Article 1, Section 26 of the Indiana Constitution in order to intercept and correct an error that I would otherwise expect many people to be tempted to make -- thinking that the rule imposed by Section 26 of Indiana's Bill of Rights is an unimportant, trifling provision that happened to find its way into our constitution but which nobody ever really even know or cared about. (Believing that might make it easier for some people to justify to themselves willfully disregarding and directly violating it.)
The appearance of rules against any power of suspending the laws (or the execution of them) in American constitutions began around the beginning of the independence of the newly United States, which states had before that time been (as everyone reading this presumably knows) English colonies. Though the American Revolution did result in independence, it began with Americans of these colonies attempting to vindicate rights that they understood the laws of England to have guaranteed to them. It consequently can be no surprise that when the time came for these Americans to form their own governments and laws, they made an effort to protect these rights for themselves.
In English law, it was the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (sometimes dated to 1688 for technical reasons that are not worth explaining) that explicitly established protection from the suspension of laws. Many parts of the English Bill of Rights responded to and were meant to prohibit in the future the exercise of powers that had been assumed by James II, a king of England whose reign had very recently ended -- powers which Parliament alone could lawfully possess. Among these were the powers to dispense with or suspend the laws or their execution. One part of the English Bill of Rights is a list of grievances against England's former king, and among the ways it identifies in which that king had wronged the kingdom, the Bill of Rights names, "By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws and the execution of laws without consent of Parliament".
A different part of the English Bill of Rights is a declaration of rights, or a declaration of some of the laws of England in relation to rights. This part of the Bill of Rights also condemns as illegal the powers to dispense with or suspend the laws without consent of the legislature: "...That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;" and "...That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal".
The American Declaration of Independence condemned a similar offense in 1776, though the grievance in that case had (quickly) grown more severe: “For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever”....
Beginning in the spring of 1776, these former colonies began to create state constitutions to govern themselves. Following independence and the creation of the United States Constitution, they were joined by additional new states which likewise created for themselves new state constitutions. The following are all of the state constitutional provisions that I found concerning the suspension of laws (up through the year 1842). From this point, there is little that I can add through narration, so I will just list the following American state constitutional provisions. They are grouped by state.
Delaware declaration of rights, 1776. "Sect. 7. That no power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, ought to be exercised unless by the Legislature."
Delaware Declaration of Rights, 1792. "Article I. Section 10. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, but by authority of the legislature."
Pennsylvania, 1790. "Article IX. Of suspending laws. Sect. XII. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the legislature, or its authority."
Pennsylvania, 1838. "Article IX. Suspending laws. Section XII. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the legislature, or its authority."
Massachusetts, 1780. "Art. XX. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the legislature shall expressly provide for."
Maryland, 1776. "VII. That no power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, unless by or derived from the Legislature, ought to be exercised or allowed."
New Hampshire, 1783. "XXIX. The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority derived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for."
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776. "VII. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority without consent of the representatives of the people is injurious to their rights and ought not to be exercised."
North Carolina, 1776. "V. That all powers of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the Representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
Vermont, 1786. "XVII. The power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws ought never to be exercised, but by the Legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for."
Vermont, 1793. "Article XV. The power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, ought never to be exercised but by the legislature, or by authority derived from it, to be exercised in such particular cases, as this constitution, or the legislature, shall provide for."
Kentucky, 1792. "Article XII. XIV. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature or its authority."
Kentucky, 1798. "Article VI. 14. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature or its authority."
Ohio, 1803. "Article VIII. Sec 9. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, unless by the Legislature."
Louisiana, 1812. "Article VI. Sec. 17. No power of suspending the laws of this state shall be exercised, unless by the legislature or its authority."
Indiana, 1816. "Article I. Sect. 6th. That no power of suspending the operation of the laws, shall be exercised, except by the Legislature, or its authority."
Mississippi, 1817. "Article I. Section 15. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised except by the Legislature or its authority."
Mississippi, 1832. "Article I. Sect. 15. That no power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the legislature, or its authority."
Alabama, 1819. "Article I. SEC. 15. No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the General Assembly, or its authority."
Maine, 1820. "Article I. Sect. 13. The laws shall not be suspended but by the legislature or its authority."
In addition to the relevant provisions from these state constitutions, I also include the following requests for an amendment (which are nearly identical to each other) to the United States Constitution; these requests were made by conventions called in Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island to consider ratification of the Constitution. Obviously, no such amendment to the United States Constitution was ever made, but anyone with a sincere interest in the meaning or the importance of the corresponding provision in the present-day Indiana Constitution should give them the attention that they are due.
Virginia Ratification, commentary and proposal, 1788. "Seventh, That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
North Carolina Convention, Requesting Amendments but Declining to Immediately Ratify, Declaration of Rights, 1789. "7th. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws by any authority without the consent of the representatives, of the people in the Legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Ratification, declaration of rights, 1790. "7th That all power of suspending laws or the execution of laws, by any authority without the consent of the representatives of the people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised."
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