Hallowed Heritage: The Life of VirginiaTorpey, Dorothy Margaret
History
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia
Torpey, Dorothy Margaret
Virginia -- Civilization
(10) "That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger
may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of
a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named,
or whose offense is not particularly described and supported
by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be
granted"--Thus, a search warrant should state specifically the
exact place to be searched or the exact individual to be seized
and the offense should be specified.
(11) "That no person shall be deprived of his property without
due process of law; and in controversies respecting property,
and in suits between man and man, trial by jury is preferable
to any other, and ought to be held sacred. The General Assembly
may limit the number of jurors for civil cases in courts of
record to not less than five in cases cognizable by justices
of the peace, or to not less than seven in cases not so
cognizable"--Thus, since man has a right to own property, he
cannot be deprived of it without due course of law. In certain
types of lawsuits, trial by jury is believed the best legal
procedure.
(12) "That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks
of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic
governments; and any citizen may freely speak, write and
publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for
the abuse of that right"--Thus, the right of the freedom of
press and of the freedom of speech is advocated as long as an
individual assumes the responsibility for same.
(13) "That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the
people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense
of a free State; that standing armies, in time of peace, should
be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the
military should be under strict subordination to, and governed
by, the civil power"--Thus, a militia promotes the safety of the
people. There are dangers of a standing army of professional men
in peacetime, and, even in wartime, the military group should be
subject to civilian authority.
(14) "That the people have a right to uniform government; and,
therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of,
the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established
within the limits thereof"--Thus, the people in the State should
be governed by the same rules and regulations. No other separate
or independent government within Virginia other than the one
established by the State Constitution can be organized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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