[wtbob]

> There is no mention of, or stated process for, secession of states in the Constitution.

You're exactly right! And the Tenth Amendment states quite clearly, 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.'

Since the Constitution gives the United States no power over secession, and does not prohibit it, then it's clearly reserved to the respective States, or to the people thereof.

Secession is 100% legal; Texas v. White is no more compelling a precedent than Dred Scott v. Sandford. There's simply no other unbiased way to read the Constitution.