CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY
                              (as amended to 1980)

                                    PREAMBLE

          We, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grateful  to
          Almighty God for the  civil, political and religious  liber-
          ties we enjoy, and invoking the continuance of these  bless-
          ings, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

                                 BILL OF RIGHTS

          That the great and essential principles of liberty and  free
          government  may  be  recognized  and established, we declare
          that:

Sec. 1.   Rights of life, liberty, worship, pursuit of safety and hap-
          piness,  free  speech,  acquiring  and  protecting property,
          peaceable  assembly,  redress  of  grievances, bearing arms.
          All men  are, by  nature, free  and equal,  and have certain
          inherent  and  inalienable  rights,   among  which  may   be
          reckoned:

First:    The right  of enjoying and defending their lives  and liber-
          ties.

Second:   The right of worshipping Almighty God according to the  dic-
          tates of their conscience.

Third:    The  right of seeking  and pursuing their safety  and happi-
          ness.

Fourth:   The right  of freely communicating their thoughts  and opin-
          ions.

Fifth:    The right of acquiring and protecting property.

Sixth:    The right  of assembling together in a peaceable  manner for
          their common good,  and of applying  to those invested  with
          power  of  government  for  redress  of  grievances or other
          proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.

Seventh:  The right to bear  arms in defense of themselves and  of the
          State, subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact
          laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons.

Sec. 2.   Absolute and arbitrary power denied.  Absolute and arbitrary
          power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists
          nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.

Sec. 3.   Men are  equal;  no exclusive grant  except for public  ser-
          vices; property  not to  be exempted  from taxation;  grants
          revocable.  All  men, when they  form a social  compact, are
          equal; and no grant of exclusive, separate public emoluments
          or privileges shall be made to any man or set of men, except
          in consideration of public  services; but no property  shall
          be exempt from taxation  except as provided in  this Consti-
          tution, and every grant of a franchise, privilege or  exemp-
          tion,  shall  remain  subject  to  revocation, alteration or
          amendment.

Sec. 4.   Power  inherent  in  the people;  right to  alter, reform or
          abolish government.  All power  is inherent  in the  people,
          and all free governments are founded on their authority  and
          instituted for their peace,  safety, happiness and the  pro-
          tection of property. For the advancement of these ends, they
          have at all times  an inalienable and indefeasible  right to
          alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner  as
          they may deem proper.

Sec. 5.   Right  of  religious  freedom. No  preference shall  ever be
          given by law to any religious sect, society or denomination;
          nor to any  particular creed, mode  of worship or  system of
          ecclesiastical polity; nor shall any person be compelled  to
          attend any place of  worship, to contribute to  the erection
          or maintenance of any such  place, or to the salary  or sup-
          port of any minister or religion; nor shall any man be  com-
          pelled to send his  child to any school  to which he may  be
          conscientiously opposed; and the civil rights, privileges or
          capacities of no person shall  be taken away, or in  anywise
          diminished or enlarged, on  account of his belief  or disbe-
          lief of any  religious tenet, dogma  or teaching.   No human
          authority shall, in any case whatever, control or  interfere
          with the rights of conscience.

Sec. 6.   Elections to be free and equal..All elections shall be  free
          and equal.

Sec. 7.   Right of trial by  jury.  The ancient mode of trial by  jury
          shall be held  sacred, and the  right thereof remain  invio-
          late, subject to such modifications as may be authorized  by
          this Constitution.

Sec. 8.   Freedom of speech and of the press.  Printing presses  shall
          be free to every person  who undertakes to examine the  pro-
          ceedings of the  General Assembly or  any branch of  govern-
          ment, and no shall ever be made to restrain the right there-
          of.   Every person  may freely  and fully  speak, write  and
          print on  any subject,  being responsible  for the  abuse of
          that liberty.

Sec. 9.   Truth may  be given in evidence in prosecution  for publish-
          ing matters proper for  public information; jury to  try law
          and facts  in libel  prosecutions. In  prosecutions for  the
          publication of papers investigating the official conduct  of
          officers or men in public capacity, or where the matter pub-
          lished is proper for  public information, the truth  thereof
          may be given in evidence;  and in all indictments for  libel
          the jury shall have the  right to determine the law  and the
          facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.

Sec. 10.  Security from search and seizure; conditions of issuance  of
          warrants.   The  people  shall  be  secure in their persons,
          houses, papers and  possessions, from unreasonable  searches
          and seizure; and no warrant shall issue to search any place,
          or seize  any person  or thing,  without describing  them as
          nearly as may  be, nor without  probable cause supported  by
          oath or affirmation.

Sec. 11.  Rights of accused in criminal prosecution; change of  venue.
          In all criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to be
          heard by himself and counsel; to demand the nature and cause
          of the accusation against him; to meet the witnesses face to
          face, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses
          in  his  favor.   He  cannot  be  compelled to give evidence
          against himself, nor can he be deprived of his life, liberty
          or property, unless by the judgement of his peers or the law
          of the land; and in prosecutions by indictments or  informa-
          tion, he shall  have a speedy  public trial by  an impartial
          jury of the vicinage;  but the General Assembly  may provide
          by a general law for a change of venue in such  prosecutions
          for both the defendant  and the Commonwealth, the  change to
          be made to the most convenient county in which a fair  trial
          can be obtained.

Sec. 12.  Indictable  offense  not to  be prosecuted  by  information;
          exceptions. No person, for  an indictable offense, shall  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 of court for oppression or misdemeanor in office.

Sec. 13.  Double jeopardy;  property  not to be  taken for public  use
          without just compensation.   No person shall,  for the  same
          offense, be twice put in  jeopardy of his life or  limb, nor
          shall any man's property be  taken or applied to public  use
          without just compensation being previously made to him.

Sec. 14.  Right  of  judicial remedy  for injury;  speedy trial.   All
          courts shall be  open, and every  person for an  injury done
          him in his  lands, goods, person  or reputation, shall  have
          remedy by due course of law, and right and justice  adminis-
          tered without sale, denial or delay.

Sec. 15.  Laws to be suspended only by General Assembly.  No power  to
          suspend laws shall be exercised unless by the General Assem-
          bly.or its authority.

Sec. 16.  Right to bail;  habeas corpus. All prisoners shall be  bail-
          able by sufficient  securities, unless for  capital offenses
          when the proof is evident or the presumption great:  and the
          privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspend-
          ed unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public
          safety may require it.

Sec. 17.  Excessive  bail  or fine,  or cruel  punishment, prohibited.
          Excessive bail  shall not  be required,  nor excessive fines
          imposed, nor cruel punishment inflicted.

Sec. 18.  Imprisonment  for debt  restricted. 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.

Sec. 19.  Ex  post facto law or  law impairing the obligation  of con-
          tract forbidden.   No ex  post facto  law, nor  any law  im-
          pairing the obligation of contracts, shall be enacted.

Sec. 20.  Attainder, operation  of restricted. No person shall  be at-
          tainted of treason or felony by the General Assembly, and no
          attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor, except during
          the  life  of  the  offender,  forfeiture  of  estate to the
          Commonwealth.

Sec. 21.  Descent in case of suicide or casualty.  The estate of  such
          persons as shall  destroy their own  lives shall descend  or
          vest as in cases of  natural death; and if any  person shall
          be  killed  by  casualty,  there  shall  be no forfeiture by
          reason thereof.

Sec. 22.  Standing  armies restricted; military subordinate  to civil;
          quartering soldiers restricted.  No standing army  shall, in
          time  of  peace,  be  maintained  without the consent of the
          General Assembly; and the  military shall, in all  cases and
          at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power;
          nor shall any soldier, in time of peace, be quartered in any
          house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of  war,
          except in a manner prescribed by law.

Sec. 23.  No  office  of nobility  or hereditary  distinction, or  for
          longer than  a term  of years.   The General  Assembly shall
          not grant any title  of nobility or hereditary  distinction,
          nor create any office the appointment of which shall be  for
          a longer time than a term of years.

Sec. 24.  Emigration to be free.  Emigration from the state shall  not
          be prohibited.

Sec. 25.  Slavery and involuntary servitude forbidden. Slavery and in-
          voluntary servitude in this  State are forbidden, except  as
          punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly
          convicted.

Sec. 26.  General powers subordinate to Bill of Rights; laws  contrary
          thereto are  void.   To guard  against transgression  of the
          high powers which we  have delegated, We Declare  that every
          thing in this Bill of Rights is excepted out of the  general
          powers of  government, and  shall forever  remain inviolate;
          and  all  laws  contrary   thereto,  or  contrary  to   this
          Constitution, shall be void.

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