The Maine Constitutional Separation of Corporation and State and the 1951 Opinion of the Justices

Presenting the Opinion that the Justices overruled the Maine Constitution and the will of the people

The New Boothybay Center- The Ten-Year Plan E-Mens Uunsplash

In the 1920s fascism became the governing system in Italy, not by constitutional amendments but by an ordinary process of legislation. There has been a similar process undergoing in Maine since the late seventies. The first stirrings of these changes date back even earlier. A 1951 Opinion of the Justices guts the core out of Article IV Part Third Sections 13 and 14 of the Maine Constitution.

In 1876 when Article IV Part Third Sections 13 and 14 were added to the Maine Constitution, Governor Seldon Conner had just taken office. His inaugural address railed passionately against special interests and abuses of governmental powers which Article IV Part Third Sections 13 and 14 of the Maine Constitution were intended to cure.

Maine Constitution Article IV. Part Third.

Legislative Power

Section 13. Special legislation. The Legislature shall, from time to time, provide, as far as practicable, by general laws, for all matters usually a…