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Constitutional Privacy and the Right to Be Left Alone: Privacy, Liberty, and the Limits of Government Power Constitutional privacy is the principle that government cannot intrude upon certain aspects of an individual’s life without sufficient constitutional justification. Although the U.S. Constitution does not contain a single provision stating “the right to privacy,” the Supreme Court has recognized several forms of constitutional privacy through provisions including the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. These protections Read more

Freedom of Religion and the Constitution: Religious Liberty, the First Amendment, and the Limits of Government Power Freedom of religion is the constitutional principle that government may not establish an official religion or prohibit individuals from freely practicing their religion. In the United States, this protection is principally expressed through the two Religion Clauses of the First Amendment: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Together, they protect religious liberty by restricting governmental control Read more

Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Limitations: How Constitutional Rights Are Protected and Restricted Fundamental rights are among the most important protections in a constitutional legal system. They safeguard individual liberty, equality, dignity, participation in public life, and other interests considered sufficiently important to receive heightened constitutional protection. But fundamental rights are rarely absolute. Constitutional law therefore has to solve two problems at the same time: protecting individual freedom from government abuse and allowing government to pursue Read more

Constitutional Rights vs. Statutory Rights: What Is the Difference? Constitutional rights and statutory rights are both legally enforceable rights, but they do not have the same source, status, or protection. A constitutional right derives from a constitution—such as the United States Constitution—and therefore operates at the highest level of the domestic legal hierarchy. A statutory right is created by legislation enacted by a legislature. Because ordinary statutes are subordinate to the Constitution, a statute that Read more

Equal Protection and Constitutional Equality: How the Constitution Limits Discrimination by Government Equal protection is the constitutional principle that government must not arbitrarily treat similarly situated people differently under the law. In the United States, the central constitutional source is the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides that no state may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Clause is therefore not a command that Read more

Due Process of Law: Procedural and Substantive Due Process Government does not have unlimited freedom to deprive people of their life, liberty, or property. Under the U.S. Constitution, due process of law places important limits on governmental action. The Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments establish a constitutional principle that government must respect certain legal protections before depriving a person of protected interests. Procedural due process focuses primarily on the fairness of Read more

Constitutional Limits on Government Power Government exists to exercise public authority, but constitutional government is based on a fundamental proposition: government power is not unlimited. A constitution does more than create governmental institutions and give them authority. It also establishes boundaries that those institutions cannot lawfully cross. These boundaries are known as constitutional limits on government power. The central idea is simple: Government may exercise only those powers that the constitutional system permits, and even Read more

Enumerated, Implied, and Inherent Government Powers Government cannot exercise unlimited power simply because a particular action appears useful, necessary, or politically desirable. In a constitutional system, the more fundamental question is where the government’s authority comes from. Government powers can generally be understood through three important categories: enumerated powers, implied powers, and inherent powers. Enumerated powers are powers expressly granted by a constitution or other fundamental legal instrument. Implied powers are powers understood to exist Read more

Constitutional Structure: How a Constitution Organizes Government A constitution does more than declare rights or establish broad political principles. At its most fundamental level, a constitution organizes government. It determines which institutions exist, what powers they possess, how those powers are distributed, how public officials are selected, and what legal limits prevent governmental authority from becoming arbitrary. The basic constitutional structure can therefore be understood as an answer to five questions: Different constitutional systems answer Read more