View source for Article Eighteen of the Constitution of Sierra

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{{K.S. Constitution articles}}
'''Article Eighteen''' to the [[Constitution of Sierra]] prohibits people who have participated in {{W|duel}}s from taking public office and makes dueling a felony crime. Although the article places legal restrictions, it is considered a part of the series of articles and amendments in the Sierran constitution known as the Bill of Rights. It explicitly states that anyone who has participated or participates in a duel, either as the dueler or a dueler's {{W|duel#Offense and satisfaction|second}}, is prohibited from taking or keeping office. It also names dueling as a prosecutable felony offense in the absence of any relevant parliamentary statute. 

The article was introduced during the drafting of the 1858 Constitution by members of the [[Constitutional Convention of 1857|1857 Constitutional Convention]] were concerned with the prevalence of dueling in the California Republic and elsewhere in Anglo-America. The death of Californian vice president Francis Clendenin in 1854 was a prominent case which left a lasting impression on the delegates and the public. However, dueling was already in decline at the time of the drafting and within two decades, Sierran society viewed dueling as an archaic practice. The article has rarely been litigated and was initially largely uncontroversial, although it has been invoked and cited in a number of controversial federal cases. It has never been used as the primary basis of a case decision by the [[Supreme Court of Sierra]].

==Text==

{{cquote|text='''Section 1.''' No person shall be capable of holding or being elected to any post of profit or emolument, civil or military, legislative, executive, or judicial, under the Government of Sierra, who shall fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which may be death of the challenger or the challenged or shall be a second to either party, or shall in any way or manner aid or assist in such a duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such challenge or acceptance; but no person shall be disqualified by reason of their having, prior to the passage of such article, fought such duel, or sent or accepted such challenge, or have been second in such duel, or bearer of such challenge or acceptance.

'''Section 2.''' Until Parliament otherwise provides, the participation in duels, the delivery or acceptance of a challenge to fight a duel, the participation in duels as a second to either the challenger or the challenged, or the aid or assistance to such duel shall be prohibited and prosecuted as felony.}}

==Background==
[[File:Hamilton-burr-duel.jpg|thumb|250px|The {{W|Burr–Hamilton duel}} was still vividly remembered in Anglo-American public memory at the time of the article's proposal]]
Dueling is an ancient practice where two people engaged in an arranged engagement in combat, often with matched weapons, based on agreed-upon rules. During the 18th century, duels were commonly fought with {{W|pistol}}s. Duels were based on a code of {{W|honor}} and was brought to Anglo-America from England. In the [[United States (Altverse)|United States]], duels were frequently utilized to resolve disputes and matters of honor. The {{W|Burr–Hamilton duel}} was a famous example of a duel in the United States which resulted in the death of {{W|United States Secretary of Treasury|U.S. Secretary of Treasury}} {{W|Alexander Hamilton}}. Dueling was especially popular in the South and its tradition was introduced into California by Southern emigrants. During the {{W|California Gold Rush}}, dueling occurred, especially as law enforcement was largely lacking in mining areas of northern Sierra. Despite state and national laws outlawing the practice, dueling persisted and participants were seldom punished by local authorities even if the end result was death. Dueling, which was traditionally a private event meant to resolve disputes of honor, became increasingly associated as a {{W|blood sport}} in California, that attracted large crowds who placed bets on the participants. Its violent nature was also connected to the mob violence and vigilantism that was prevalent throughout California during the Gold Rush and afterwards.

[[Charles I of Sierra|Charles Miller]], a rising statesman in Californian politics, lamented that dueling was a "lamentable, contemptible plague" alongside slavery, and called for the practice's abolition. As Miller pushed for [[Monarchism in Sierra|monarchism]], he promised his supporters that he would personally "put an end to needless bloodshed" as king.

==Adoption==

After several years of an inefficient, weak, and mismanaged government under the California Republic, a constitutional convention in [[San Francisco City]] proposed a new constitution in the winter of 1857. For several months, more than two hundred delegates convened and debated the contents of the new constitution. Two main factions arose: the Monarchists and the Republicans, as well as a minority faction known as the Compromisers. Although the factions had their disagreements over the system of government and degree of reliance on the {{W|United States Constitution}} as a model document, the factions agreed that a bill of rights guaranteeing civil liberties was necessary, as well as a number of explicit prohibitions to prevent future possible litigation or legal controversies. Dozens of articles were proposed, leading to consternation by a number of delegates that the new constitution was becoming too bloated and intricate. Among the articles proposed was the anti-dueling article, which was formally proposed by Henry Wyatt on August 19, 1858. The article was submitted alongside a number of other proposals and passed without much objection. After it was agreed that the new constitution would reorganize California into the Kingdom of Sierra, the article was numbered Article Eighteen. It was ratified into full effect along the rest of the original Sierran constitution on November 27, 1858.

==Judicial interpretation==
[[File:Duel_between_Broderick_and_Terry.jpg|thumb|250px|The {{W|Broderick–Terry duel|duel}} between K.S. Senator {{W|David C. Broderick}} and Sierran federal jurist {{W|David S. Terry}} in 1859, resulted in Terry's impeachment, debarment, and subsequent felony conviction on the grounds of Article Eighteen]]
The article is one of the least cited sections of the K.S. Constitution. Legal scholars have often remarked the purpose of the article, as the ''Revised Treatise on Sierran Law'' notes "the prohibition against dueling appears to be no more than vestigial appendix to the Constitution–its purpose long forgotten except as a legal footnoted curiosity". The article has rarely been invoked. In the few instances it has been invoked, it has been used to establish an implicit ban against individuals who threatened violence or engaged in legislative violence from taking or keeping office. 

One of the few times a federal court was asked to invalidate a law or action on the grounds of Article Eighteen was in ''[[King v. County of Marshall]]'' (1978). In 1978, Steven T. King, who was a professional boxer, ran for office and was elected onto the Marshall County Board of Supervisors. The county government invalidated his election and refused to certify the results, citing an anti-dueling statute. The K.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the term ''duel'' in Article Eighteen includes all fights in which the "probable issue of which may be death" and held that because boxing is an "inherently deadly sport which mirrors the conditions and dangers of traditional dueling", the county government was within its right to prevent King's assumption of office. King appealed the case but the [[Supreme Court of Sierra|Supreme Court]] denied granting {{W|certiorari}}.

==See also==

*[[Sierran Bill of Rights]]

[[Category:Articles of the Constitution of Sierra]]
[[Category:Dueling in the Kingdom of Sierra]]