constitutional right

(noun)

Rights given to citizens by the constitution.

Related Terms

Examples of constitutional right in the following topics:

  • The Ninth Amendment

    • The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, addresses rights of the people that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
    • Subsequent to Griswold, some judges have tried to use the Ninth Amendment to justify judicially enforcing rights that are not enumerated.
    • Wade ruled in favor of a "Ninth Amendment right to choose to have an abortion," although it stressed that the right was "not unqualified or unfettered. "
    • The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
    • Analyze the relationship between enumerated and unenumerated right in the Constitution

  • The Constitutional Right to Petition the Government

    • In the United States, the right to petition is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the national Constitution.
    • In the United States the right to petition is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the federal constitution, which specifically prohibits Congress from abridging "the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. " Although often overlooked in favor of other more famous freedoms, and sometimes taken for granted, many other civil liberties are enforceable against the government only by exercising this basic right .
    • The right to petition is a fundamental in a Constitutional Republic, such as the United States, as a means of protecting public participation in government.
    • The right to petition is protected by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
    • Constitution

  • The Twenty-Seven Amendments of the U.S. Constitution

    • There are 27 amendments to the constitution, the first 10 being the Bill of Rights .
    • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
    • The 11th secures the right to sue a state.
    • The 19th gives women the right to vote.
    • The Bill of Rights are the first 10 of 27 amendements to the Constitution, and serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property.

  • Ratification of the Constitution

    • In order for all states to ratify, a compromise over a bill of rights had to be made.
    • New York and Virginia ratified the Constitution under the condition that a Bill of Rights be added.
    • Ten of the amendments would become the Bill of Rights.
    • The Bill of Rights was enacted on December 15, 1791.
    • Amendment 7: Provides for the right to trial by jury in civil cases.

  • Informal Methods of Amending the Constitution: Societal Change and Judicial Review

    • The United States Constitution can be changed informally.
    • Sometimes society changes, leading to shifts in how constitutional rights are applied.
    • Due to a burgeoning middle class at the peak of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, society became focused on expanding rights for the middle and working classes.
    • This led to the right to vote being extended to more and more people.
    • A number of other countries whose constitutions provide for such a review of constitutional compatibility of primary legislation have established special constitutional courts with authority to deal with this issue.

  • The First Amendment

    • The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights.
    • Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
    • State the restrictions imposed upon the federal government and the rights accorded individuals by the 1st Amendment

  • The Bill of Rights

    • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution .
    • The Constitution may never have been ratified if a bill of rights had not been added .
    • The Ninth Amendment protects rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
    • James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and first author of the Bill of Rights
    • Without the addition of the Bill of Rights, it is unlikely that the Constitution would have been ratified.

  • The 19th Amendment

    • The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex.
    • The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
    • The 19th Amendment recognized the right of American women to vote.

  • The Second Amendment

    • The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
    • A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

  • The Constitution

    • The first 10 constitutional amendments ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1791 are known as the Bill of Rights.
    • These basic rights were life, liberty, and property.
    • The first 10, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously by 1791.
    • There is a viewpoint that some Americans have come to see the documents of the Constitution, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as being a cornerstone of a type of civic religion.
    • This is suggested by the prominent display of the Constitution, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.