Know Your Bill of Rights
Monday March 26, 2007
Full Coverage: The Bill of Rights: Text, Origins, and Meaning
The centerpiece of U.S. civil liberties law is the Bill of Rights. Drafted by the founding fathers and protected by the Supreme Court, it is in effect a list of government "thou shalt nots." But where did it come from, and what does each amendment do?
Read these profiles to learn more about the civil liberties described in our Bill of Rights, and what is currently being done (or not being done) to protect them.
Read more:
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Read these profiles to learn more about the civil liberties described in our Bill of Rights, and what is currently being done (or not being done) to protect them.
Read more:
- The First Amendment - Protects free speech and religious liberty.
- The Second Amendment - Protects the right to bear arms.
- The Third Amendment - Protects private property from forced military occupation.
- The Fourth Amendment - Establishes conditions for arrests and searches.
- The Fifth Amendment - Establishes basic rights of the accused, and prohibits the government from taking private property without compensation.
- The Sixth Amendment - Sets conditions for criminal trials.
- The Seventh Amendment - Establishes the right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits.
- The Eighth Amendment - Prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners.
- The Ninth Amendment - Protects implicit rights.
- The Tenth Amendment - Protects states' rights.
Comments
Hi–I am looking for information for my doctoral dissertation about a person’s right to keep her journals private. Two of the women I have interviewed reported that their husbands used their private journals against them in court custody battles. In both cases, the husbands were unsuccessful, but the effect upon the women was traumatic, leaving them fearful of keeping a journal again.