How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Ninth Amendment of the US Constitution?

The Ninth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean that individuals have more rights beyond just those specifically outlined in the Constitution, such as the right to privacy. In the 1965 case Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that prohibited married couples from using contraceptives. Justice William Douglas wrote that the Ninth Amendment serves to protect individuals’ rights that are not stated in the Constitution. In this case, the Court reasoned that the right to marital privacy was an implied right that was protected by the Ninth Amendment. In the subsequent case Roe v. Wade in 1973, the Supreme Court employed the Ninth Amendment to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.” This decision reaffirmed that the Ninth Amendment protects implied rights not listed in the Constitution. The Supreme Court has continued to interpret the Ninth Amendment in a variety of cases in order to protect the rights of Americans beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution. For example, in 2017, a New York court cited the Ninth Amendment when ruling in favor of the right of a transgender student to use the bathroom that corresponded with their gender identity. This ruling serves as a reminder that the Ninth Amendment continues to be an important part of our constitutional landscape.

How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Ninth Amendment of the US Constitution?

Related FAQs

Related Blog Posts