Constitutional law attorneys handle cases involving the construction and interpretation of federal and state constitutions, including individual rights and governmental powers. Constitutional law cases can involve issues like First Amendment rights -- such as freedom of speech, press, and religion -- and the checks and balances on authority among different branches of government. Most of the federal constitutional rights are found in the Bill of Rights, that was created originally as a limitation on the action by the federal government, but many of those rights are also applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population of Portales and its near suburbs, contained in Zip Code 88130, was nearly 17,000 people in 2007, not including a majority of the city's college students. 2007 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region. Eastern New Mexico University opened in Portales in 1934 and has grown to become the third largest university in the state. Portales is one of the largest producers of Valencia peanuts in the United States and is the nation's top producer of Certified Organic peanut butter. Portales is home to over 40 dairies and a major US dairy solids plant, together producing and exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of local milk products each year. Portales is the principal city of the Portales Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Clovis-Portales Combined Statistical Area, including Clovis, 20 miles away and Cannon Air Force Base, 12 miles away.