- Trouble among the States led to the adoption of the Constitution. As a result, several parts of the Constitution deal with how the states must interact and treat one another. For example, the Constitution says States may not make treaties with each other. They may, with permission from Congress, make interstate compacts. These are agreements among States that focus on solving problems they share. A compact might work to protect natural resources or build harbors. There even are compacts that all States have joined. One example is the Compact on Supervision of Parolees and Probationers. This agreement allows States to share information on criminals.
Full Faith and Credit
- Article 4 of the Constitution says ,"Fulll faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." This Full Faith and Credit Clause means each state must honor the laws, records, and court decisions of every other state. This clause aplies only to civil (not crminal) matters. That means that one State cannot enforce another State's laws. Also, the Supreme Court has placed limit on this clause. In the case of Williams v. North Carolina, for example, the court decided that one state could not issue a divorce for people from another state.
- Inrerstate and Citizenship
- The Constitution also says, "The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States." This is the Privileges and Immunities Clause. It means that no state can discriminate against a person who lives in another State. In other words, there are rights that go with "interstate citizenship."Some kinds of discrimination are allowed in a State. A person must live in a State for a time before voting or holding public office. Another example is when a State university charges lower tutition for students from its State.
-
- Extradition
- The Constitution also mentions extradition, the legal process in which a person running from police in one State is returned by the police of another State. Until recently, governors could refuse to return fugitives. Then, in the 1987 case of Puerto Rico v. Branstad, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can order a governor to extradite someone.
-