Just as the U.S. Constitution cannot be read without considering how it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court, state constitutions must also be read in light of decisions by the state courts. The state supreme court determines the meaning of its constitution, but the U.S. Supreme Court rules on conflicts between federal and state law. Cases citing particular constitutional provisions are also listed in Shepard's state citators, discussed later in this chapter. Most, but not all, of these constitutions are annotated. There is no separate 50-state file for constitutions.
Most states also provide the text of their constitutions at state Web sites.
Direct links to constitutions are provided by several of the multistate sites listed earlier in this chapter. Most of the state constitutions on the Internet are part of official state Web sites, but a few are provided by law schools or commercial sites. Usually they provide the complete document but no annotations. Reference Guides to the State Constitutions of the United States , a series of volumes published by Greenwood Press, provides an excellent place to begin research in particular states' constitutions. A convenient list of volumes appears in the front of each new addition to the series, and most library catalogs list entries under the series title.