Bill Text: TX HR2402 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-08 - Reported enrolled [HR2402 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR2402-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-08 - Reported enrolled [HR2402 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR2402-Introduced.html
84R23661 JGH-D | ||
By: Price | H.R. No. 2402 |
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WHEREAS, The year 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the | ||
signing of the Magna Carta, one of the foundational documents of our | ||
system of government, law, and jurisprudence; and | ||
WHEREAS, In the early years of the 13th century, the barons of | ||
England rose up in rebellion against their monarch, King John; they | ||
objected to his excessive taxation, punitive fines, and | ||
manipulation of the legal system, and they forced the king to | ||
negotiate with them at Runnymede, along the River Thames in | ||
southern England; and | ||
WHEREAS, On June 15, 1215, King John and the barons agreed | ||
upon the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter"; drafted in Latin, this | ||
remarkable document addressed the grievances of the barons and put | ||
limits on the executive power of the king, initiating a tradition of | ||
individual liberty and rule of law that has since echoed around the | ||
globe; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Magna Carta strongly influenced the | ||
constitutions of both the United States and Texas; it was relied | ||
upon by the drafters of the 1836 Constitution of the Republic of | ||
Texas, and it is one of the sources for the Texas Bill of Rights; in | ||
the early 20th century, the Texas Supreme Court declared that "all | ||
grants of power are to be interpreted in the light of the maxims of | ||
Magna Carta"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Among the document's most famous and influential | ||
provisions is Clause 39, which declares that no one shall be | ||
imprisoned or stripped of his rights, "except by the lawful | ||
judgment of his equals or by the law of the land"; from this clause | ||
derives an individual's right to due process of law and trial by | ||
jury, as well as the concept of habeas corpus, which protects | ||
citizens against illegal imprisonment; and | ||
WHEREAS, Also influential is Clause 40, which states that "To | ||
no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice"; this | ||
elegant formulation is the basis of the "open courts" provision in | ||
the Texas Constitution, which guarantees that all litigants have | ||
the opportunity to redress their grievances and receive their day | ||
in court; and | ||
WHEREAS, On a summer's day eight centuries ago, in a field by | ||
the bank of the Thames, the English people lit a flame of liberty | ||
that continues to burn brightly in the Lone Star State, ensuring | ||
that all Texans are guaranteed their fundamental rights to justice | ||
and fair treatment under the law; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Magna | ||
Carta. |