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Ohio Primary Law Legal Research Guide: Constitution

Covers Ohio cases, statutes, legislative history, regulations, and administrative decisions.

Introduction

For comprehensive coverage, see: Ohio Constitution Law and History Webpage
by Professor Steven H. Steinglass: Includes text of historical versions of the Constitution; text of constitutional conventions; a chart of proposed amendments 1857-present; bibliography of primary and secondary sources, some linked to full text; Current Ohio Supreme Court decisions and pending cases.

What the Ohio Constitution does: "[D]efines what rights are guaranteed to the Citizens of Ohio and organizes the government into three separate branches" The Ohio Constitution, online brochure by the Ohio Supreme Court. For some issues, it gives more rights than the U.S. Constitution.

History: Ohio's first constitution was adopted in 1802. The Constitution of 1851, as amended, is the current governing document.


Photo:  1912 Ohio Constitutional Convention, by Ohio History Central.

Current Copies of the Ohio Constitution

Unannotated versions:

Annotated versions contain short descriptions of cases on each section of the constitution, as well as references to secondary sources.

Recommended Reading

Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission