First Things First: Rediscovering the States' Bills of Rights

The first annual Judge Irving A. Levine Memorial program was held on May 16, 1979, in College Park, Maryland. The topic of the program was "States' Bills of Rights." Justice Linde's speech, set forth below, addressed the failure of state] courts and lawyers to decide questions of constitutional rights under their own state constitutions when state law protects the interest at stake. Justice Linde suggests that a st ate court confronted with a constitutional question should always examine its state constitution before looking to the Federal Constitution.*