Chapter §18.1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

• Jurisdiction: Oregon

§18.1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

This chapter identifies the rights protected in Article I, section 26, of the Oregon Constitution and the method of determining whether laws violate section 26. To date, case law on section 26 has been limited. The Oregon Supreme Court has allowed review of State v. Babson, 249 Or App 278, 279 P3d 222, rev allowed, 353 Or 103 (2012), which may provide additional guidance. See §§ 18.2, 18.3-1, 18.3-4, and 18.3-5 for further discussion of Babson.

Article I, section 26, provides: "No law shall be passed restraining any of the inhabitants of the State from assembling together in a peaceable manner to consult for their common good; nor from instructing their Representatives; nor from applying to the Legislature for redress of greviances [sic]."

Article I, section 26, is part of the original Bill of Rights in the Oregon Constitution of 1857. Section 26 was copied verbatim from the Indiana Constitution of 1851. W.C. Palmer, The Sources of the Oregon Constitution, 5 Or L Rev 200...