Privacy

The Constitution does not contain the word ‘privacy,’ but the Supreme Court has read a protected ‘zone of privacy’ from several guarantees — including the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and the Fourteenth Amendment’s liberty guarantee. The Constitution Annotated treats informational privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment’s substantive due process discussion.

Example: In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Estelle Griswold and Lee Buxton were convicted for running a birth-control clinic; the Supreme Court held that a married couple’s use of contraception fell within a protected zone of privacy, striking the Connecticut law as applied to them.

Common misconception: There is one ‘right to privacy’ clause in the Constitution. The right is an interpretation built from several provisions, which is why its scope — and which decisions fall inside it — remains contested.

Sources: Constitution Annotated, Fourteenth Amendment — Informational Privacy, Confidentiality, and Substantive Due Process (Amdt14.S1.6.3.3), https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/