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Pennsylvania Constitution, Article I

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Pennsylvania/Constitution

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Article I, Declaration of Rights

29 sections · 0 paragraphs in this article.

All articles174 Art. I29 Art. II17 Art. III32 Art. IV21 Art. V18 Art. VI7 Art. VII14 Art. VIII17 Art. IX14 Art. X4 Art. XI1

29 provisions·Filtered byArt. I✕

Pa. Const. art. I, § 1 Inherent rights of mankind
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All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness.
Pa. Const. art. I, § 2 Political powers
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All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. For the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their gove…
Pa. Const. art. I, § 3 Religious freedom
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All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent; no human authority can, in…
Pa. Const. art. I, § 4 Religion
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No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth.

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Pa. Const. art. I, § 5 Elections

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Elections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 6 Trial by jury

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Trial by jury shall be as heretofore, and the right thereof remain inviolate. The General Assembly may provide, however, by law, that a verdict may be rendered by not less than five-sixths of the jury in any civil case. Furthermore, in criminal cases the Commonwealth shall have t…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 7 Freedom of press and speech; libels

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The printing press shall be free to every person who may undertake to examine the proceedings of the Legislature or any branch of government, and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable righ…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 8 Security from searches and seizures

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The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions from unreasonable searches and seizures, and no warrant to search any place or to seize any person or things shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported …

Pa. Const. art. I, § 9 Rights of accused in criminal prosecutions

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In all criminal prosecutions the accused hath a right to be heard by himself and his counsel, to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and, in pr…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 10 Initiation of criminal proceedings; twice in jeopardy;

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eminent domain. Except as hereinafter provided no person shall, for any indictable offense, be proceeded against criminally by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger, or by leave…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 11 Courts to be open; suits against the Commonwealth

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All courts shall be open; and every man for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought against the Commonwealth in such manner, in such…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 12 Power of suspending laws

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No power of suspending laws shall be exercised unless by the Legislature or by its authority.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 13 Bail, fines and punishments

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Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 14 Prisoners to be bailable; habeas corpus

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All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses or for offenses for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment or unless no condition or combination of conditions other than imprisonment will reasonably assure the safety of any person and …

Pa. Const. art. I, § 15 Special criminal tribunals

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No commission shall issue creating special temporary criminal tribunals to try particular individuals or particular classes of cases. (May 16, 1967, P.L.1035, J.R.1)

Pa. Const. art. I, § 16 Insolvent debtors

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The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 17 Ex post facto laws; impairment of contracts

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No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, or making irrevocable any grant of special privileges or immunities, shall be passed.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 18 Attainder

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No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the Legislature.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 19 Attainder limited

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No attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the Commonwealth. (May 16, 1967, P.L.1035, J.R.1)

Pa. Const. art. I, § 20 Right of petition

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The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 21 Right to bear arms

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The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 22 Standing army; military subordinate to civil power

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No standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up without the consent of the Legislature, and the military shall in all cases and at all times be in strict subordination to the civil power.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 23 Quartering of troops

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No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 24 Titles and offices

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The Legislature shall not grant any title of nobility or hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment to which shall be for a longer term than during good behavior.

Pa. Const. art. I, § 25 Reservation of powers in people

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To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government and shall forever remain inviolate. (May 16, 1967, P.L.1035, J.R.1)

Pa. Const. art. I, § 26 No discrimination by Commonwealth and its political subdivisions

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Neither the Commonwealth nor any political subdivision thereof shall deny to any person the enjoyment of any civil right, nor discriminate against any person in the exercise of any civil right. (May 16, 1967, P.L.1035, J.R.1)

Pa. Const. art. I, § 27 Natural resources and the public estate

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The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of t…

Pa. Const. art. I, § 28 Prohibition against denial or abridgment of equality of rights because of sex

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Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual. (May 18, 1971, P.L.767, J.R.2)

Pa. Const. art. I, § 29 Prohibition against denial or abridgment of equality of rights because of race and ethnicity

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Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the race or ethnicity of the individual. (May 18, 2021, P.L.493, J.R.1)