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Basic Constitutional Concepts
tably in cases involving divorce, a State can refuse to give full faith and
credit to another State’s court decree.
Under Section 2 of Article IV, the States are prohibited under certain circumstances from discriminating against out-of-state citizens. Although as
a general rule they must extend the same privileges and immunities to
other citizens that they extend to their own, this provision has been interpreted to mean that the States are not required to give them special privileges, particularly regarding the use and enjoyment of State property.
Thus a State is free under this clause to charge out-of-state residents a
higher fee than that paid by State residents for fishing and hunting licenses, or for tuition at a State university. On the other hand, a State is
prohibited from denying out-of-state citizens access to its courts.
Section 2 of Article IV also provides for the extradition or return of fugitives. If a person commits a crime in one State and is caught in another,
the State from which he fled may demand from the governor of the State
which holds the fugitive that he be returned. In nearly all cases, escaped
prisoners and fugitives charged with a crime are returned, but there is no
judicial method of compelling extradition. State governors have on occasion refused to extradite on the ground that the fugitive might not receive a fair trial or has been rehabilitated. The other clause in Section 2
calling for the return of fugitive slaves was nullified by the Thirteenth
Amendment, which abolished slavery.
The Role of the States in the Amendment Process
This brings us finally to Article V, which prescribes the method for amending the Constitution. Here the States play a crucial role because no formal
change of the Constitution is possible without their assent. The States have
the right under Article V to initiate amendments and approve their adoption. An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses
of Congress or by a national convention called by Congress at the request
of the legislatures of two-thirds of the States. Every amendment added
thus far to the Constitution, however, was proposed by Congress. The
Constitution asserts that, in the event the States call for a convention,
Congress ‘‘shall’’ do so. But there is no way to force Congress to act, and
it would seem in this instance—as in many others—that the Framers