Article I, Iowa Constitution

Iowa Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII

Article I of the Iowa Constitution is labeled Bill of Rights. It has 25 sections.

Section 1

	Text of Section 1: Rights of Persons All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights--among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

Amendments

• Amended in 1998 with the approval of Iowa Equal Rights Act, Chapter 216 (1998).

Section 1A

	Text of Section 1A: Right to keep and bear arms The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.

Amendments

• Section 1A was added with the approval of Amendment 1 on November 8, 2022.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Political Power All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right, at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it.

Section 3

	Text of Section 3: Religion The general assembly shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; nor shall any person be compelled to attend any place of worship, pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing places of worship, or the maintenance of any minister, or ministry.

Section 4

Text of Section 4: Religious Test--Witnesses No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office, or public trust, and no person shall be deprived of any of his rights, privileges, or capacities, or disqualified from the performance of any of his public or private duties, or rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of law or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the subject of religion; and any party to any judicial proceeding shall have the right to use as a witness, or take the testimony of, any other person not disqualified on account of interest, who may be cognizant of any fact material to the case; and parties to suits may be witnesses, as provided by law.

Referred to in §729.1 of the Code.

Section 5

	Text of Section 5: Dueling

Repealed in 1992 with the approval of Amendment.

Section 6

	Text of Section 6: Laws Uniform All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the general assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens.

Section 7

Text of Section 7: Liberty of Speech and Press Every person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it appears to the jury that the matter charged as libellous was true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted.

Section 8

	Text of Section 8: Personal Security--Searches and Seizures The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized.

Section 9

	Text of Section 9: Right of Trial by Jury--Due Process of Law The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; but the general assembly may authorize trial by a jury of a less number than twelve men in inferior courts; but no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

See also: R.Cr.P. 2.17, 2.21(2), 2.67; R.C.P. 1.902, 1.903, 1.1108.

Section 10

Text of Section 10: Rights of Persons Accused In all criminal prosecutions, and in cases involving the life, or liberty of an individual the accused shall have a right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the accusation against him, to have a copy of the same when demanded; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for his witnesses; and, to have the assistance of counsel.

See also: §602.1601 of the Code.

Section 11

Text of Section 11: When Indictment Necessary--Grand Jury All offenses less than felony and in which the maximum permissible imprisonment does not exceed thirty days shall be tried summarily before an officer authorized by law, on information under oath, without indictment, or the intervention of a grand jury, saving to the defendant the right of appeal; and no person shall be held to answer for any higher criminal offense, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the army, or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. The grand jury may consist of any number of members not less than five, nor more than fifteen, as the general assembly may by law provide, or the general assembly may provide for holding persons to answer for any criminal offense without the intervention of a grand jury.

Amendments

• Paragraph 2 added 1884 with the approval of Amendment.
• Paragraph 1 amended 1998 with the approval of Iowa Offenses Tried without Indictment Act, Chapter 217 (1998).

As to indictment and the number of grand jurors, see R.Cr.P. 2.3, 2.4. Magistrate jurisdiction, see §602.6405 of the Code.

Section 12

	Text of Section 12: Twice Tried--Bail No person shall after acquittal, be tried for the same offence. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable, by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences where the proof is evident, or the presumption great.

Section 13

	Text of Section 13: Habeas Corpus The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, or refused when application is made as required by law, unless in case of rebellion, or invasion the public safety may require it.

Section 14

	Text of Section 14: Military The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be kept up by the state in time of peace; and in time of war, no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years.

Section 15

	Text of Section 15: Quartering Soldiers No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war except in the manner prescribed by law.

Section 16

	Text of Section 16: Treason Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.

Section 17

	Text of Section 17: Bail--Punishments Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted.

Section 18

Text of Section 18: Eminent Domain Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation first being made, or secured to be made to the owner thereof, as soon as the damages shall be assessed by a jury, who shall not take into consideration any advantages that may result to said owner on account of the improvement for which it is taken. The general assembly, however, may pass laws permitting the owners of lands to construct drains, ditches, and levees for agricultural, sanitary or mining purposes across the lands of others, and provide for the organization of drainage districts, vest the proper authorities with power to construct and maintain levees, drains and ditches and to keep in repair all drains, ditches, and levees heretofore constructed under the laws of the state, by special assessments upon the property benefited thereby. The general assembly may provide by law for the condemnation of such real estate as shall be necessary for the construction and maintenance of such drains, ditches and levees, and prescribe the method of making such condemnation.

Amendments

• Paragraph 2 added in 1908 with the approval of Amendment.

Section 19

	Text of Section 19: Imprisonment for Debt No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in case of fraud; and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.

Section 20

	Text of Section 20: Rights of Assemblage--Petition The people have the right freely to assemble together to counsel for the common good; to make known their opinions to their representatives and to petition for a redress of grievances.

Section 21

	Text of Section 21: Ex Post Facto Law--Obligation of Contract No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.

Referred to in §12E.11, 16.2 of the Code.

Section 22

	Text of Section 22: Resident Aliens Foreigners who are, or may hereafter become residents of this state, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment and descent of property, as native born citizens.

Section 23

	Text of Section 23: Slavery--Penal Servitude There shall be no slavery in this state; nor shall there be involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime.

Section 24

	Text of Section 24: Agricultural Leases No lease or grant of agricultural lands, reserving any rent, or service of any kind, shall be valid for a longer period than twenty years.

Referred to in §461A.25 of the Code.

Section 25

	Text of Section 25: Rights Reserved This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others, retained by the people.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Iowa.gov, "Iowa Constitution"
• Iowa.gov, "Amendments to the Constitution of Iowa"

Additional reading

• Iowa, Benjamin Franklin Shambaugh (1902). The Constitution of the State Of Iowa, State Historical Society of Iowa
• Stark, Jack (1998). The Iowa State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press