State of Iowa v. Isaac Andrew Baldon III

(specially concurring).

I join in the majority opinion, but write to review the foundations of the well-established Iowa law that we jealously reserve our right to construe our state constitution independently of decisions of the United States Supreme Court interpreting parallel provisions of the Federal Constitution.

I. Historic Role of State Constitutions.

A. State Constitutions, Declarations of Rights, and Judicial Review Prior to Ratification of United States Constitution. Suppose a leading historian asks you to identify a period in American history. The historian tells you the period in…