What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution that requires all states to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Checkout this video:

What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2). The clause states that “full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.”

The clause was intended to prevent discrimination against out-of-state citizens and to promote comity (harmony) among the states. Comity is the legal principle that one state should give deference to another state’s laws and court decisions. Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, a state must recognize legal documents—such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and wills—that were duly issued by another state.

The Supreme Court has interpreted the Full Faith and Credit Clause fairly narrowly. For example, in its decision in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938), the Court held that the Clause does not require states to extend full faith and credit to another state’s substantive laws (as opposed to procedural laws).

In recent years, some members of Congress have proposed amending the Constitution to require states to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully entered into in other states. Thus far, these efforts have been unsuccessful.

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Constitution

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is found in Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution. The clause states that “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.”

The Clause was included in the Constitution in order to ensure that each state would recognize the laws of other states. This recognition would help to promote unity among the states and prevent conflict.

The Clause has been interpreted to require each state to recognize the valid laws of other states, even if those laws are not consistent with the laws of the state where the recognition is being sought. For example, if a couple gets married in one state and then moves to another state, the second state must recognize the marriage even if it does not have a law allowing marriages between people of the same sex.

The Clause has also been interpreted to require each state to give full faith and credit to the public records of other states. This means that a birth certificate or death certificate issued by one state must be recognized as valid by all other states.

The Clause has been interpreted by courts to require each state to give full faith and credit to judgments issued by the courts of other states. This means that if you are sued in one state and you lose, you cannot go to another state and have the judgment against you set aside just because the law is different in the second state.

In recent years, some politicians have proposed amending the Constitution to repeal or limit the Full Faith and Credit Clause. These proposals have not been successful.

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and the States

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) that requires each state to give “full faith and credit” to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

In practical terms, this means that a judgment issued by a court in one state must be recognized by courts in other states, even if the judgment is for a different type of case than the one being heard in the second state. For example, if someone is divorced in Texas, that divorce must be recognized as valid in California; and if someone is ordered to pay child support in Maine, that order must be recognized in Arizona.

The Clause was included in the Constitution in order to promote harmony among the states and to ensure that citizens would not have to worry about conflicting laws from one state to another. Without the Full Faith and Credit Clause, for example, a person could get married in one state and then be told by another state that the marriage was not valid.

The Clause does not require states to give full faith and credit to every law of every other state; rather, it affects only those laws that fall into certain categories. In particular, the Clause applies only to laws that involve:
-Public acts (such as legislation)
-Records (such as birth certificates)
-Judicial proceedings (such as court decisions)

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Federal Government

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution (Article VI, Section 1) stating that “all debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of [the Constitution], shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.” This clause has been interpreted to mean that the federal government must recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every state. Simply put, it means that each state must honor the laws and regulations of every other state.

The Clause was designed to prevent states from refusing to honor contracts or other obligations from another state. For example, if a person in State A borrows money from a person in State B, State A cannot refuse to pay back the debt simply because it occurred in another state. The Full Faith and Credit Clause ensures that all states will honor such debts.

The Clause also requires states to recognize certain types of judgments from other states’ courts. For example, if a person is sued in court in State A and loses, that person cannot go to State B and have the judgment automatically thrown out simply because it occurred in another state. The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires states to give “full faith and credit” to judgments from other states’ courts.

There are some exceptions to the Full Faith and Credit Clause. One exception is for marriages: each state is not required to recognize a marriage from another state if that marriage would be deemed invalid in the first state. Another exception is for cases involving child custody: each state is not required to give full faith and credit to a child custody determination from another state if doing so would not be in the best interests of the child.

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Courts

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a provision of the United States Constitution found in Article Four. The clause states that “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.”

The Clause has been interpreted by the courts in a variety of ways, but generally speaking, it requires that each state give effect to the laws of other states. For example, if you are married in one state, that marriage must be recognized by all other states.

The Clause has also been interpreted to require that each state recognize the judgments of the courts of other states. So, if you are sued in one state and you lose, you can be sure that the court in your home state will enforce that judgment against you.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court has never interpreted the Clause to require that one state give effect to the laws of another state if those laws are contrary to the public policy of the first state. So, if a state has a law banning gay marriage, that law would not be affected by the Full Faith and Credit Clause.