State Bills of Rights

[David Bernstein]

Are we perhaps confusing "enforceable" with "judicially enforceable?"  Once
upon a time, it was thought that when executive and legislative branch
officials swore an oath to uphold the constitution, that they had an
obligation to adhere to the constitution as they understood it to the best of
their abilities.  Thus, even provisions that seem to us to be extraordinarily
vague and therefore not subject to judicial review would have been
"enforceable" in the sense that government officials were expected to take
cognizance of the provisions and act on them as part of their constitutional
duties.  So, perhaps, as naive as it seems today, these provisions were to be
enforced by the very officials that the provisions constrained.

David Bernstein