Each year, the North Carolina Judicial Branch recognizes September 17 as Constitution Day. In this episode, the Branch honors this special day by listening to excerpts from a lecture by two authors who wrote the book on the North Carolina Constitution, Chief Justice Paul Newby and University of North Carolina Professor John Orth. Published in 2013, Newby and Orth co-authored the book entitled, "The North Carolina State Constitution," which provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter.

"Both of these documents (United States Constitution and North Carolina State Constitution) begin with 'we the people,'" said Newby on the podcast. "These are our documents and fortunately the 1868 Constitution which has given so much power to 'we the people' has endured and it is our job to safeguard it."

This lecture was originally recorded in the Senate chamber of the North Carolina State Capitol in 2018 as part of a reenactment of the 1868 Constitutional Convention. A video of the reenactment can be found on the NCcourts Facebook page.