Different interpretations include the refusal of the Utah Supreme Court to extend the spousal testimonial privilege beyond the confines of the trial, thus rendering it almost meaningless. The Utah court has also reserved the right to interpret the exclusionary rule on state rather than federal grounds. The Utah constitution contains a number of interesting and unique provisions. One notable element of the original constitution is a provision affording women the right to vote. As a state Utah allowed women to vote for a number of years, but there was a fear in the Congress that their polygamist husbands were manipulating Utah women, in effect giving some Mormon men more than one vote.
State constitutions do much more than simply set forth the outlines of the state government.
They are also political documents, reflecting the dominant social and economic interests of the times. This is particularly true of the constitutions of western states, which were concerned with the conflict between mining and agriculture interests and the growing influence of monopolies like the railroads. It is especially true of Utah, which had all the usual western state problems as well as the Mormon question. This may explain the length of state constitutions, as they try to address issues of concern to specific groups in society instead of stating general principles and outlining the government. The federal constitution delegates certain limited powers to the federal government.