Olmstead V. United States (1928)

The right to privacy is a fundamental part of the Constitution because it protects personal information of the people. Americans highly value privacy, because everyone deserves to have their political, financial, and religious affairs private if they choose to. Some things people want to keep to themselves, which is why the right to privacy is so important. The Constitution never explicitly stated the right to privacy. The language stated in amendments four and five make it implied that the people have the right to be secure in their person, homes, and papers. Also the Supreme Court stated that amendments like four and five create the right to privacy. As early as 1928 the right to privacy was questioned because it wasn’t officially stated in the Constitution and because …show more content…
United States (1928). It involved the government’s use of wire-tapping to obtain information about the criminal activities. Justice Louis Brandeis said that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments granted individuals a constitutional right to personal privacy that went beyond the security of physical possessions. The majority of the court disagreed, so Olmstead had to serve four years in prison. This case is significant to the right to privacy because it provoked thought on the subject and made people think about possible boundaries for this right to privacy. It was not until 1965 that the Court specifically recognized a constitutional right to privacy, ruling, in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), that a Connecticut law forbidding the recommendation and use of contraceptives violated that right. Griswold defined privacy as a constitutional right, and not being able to use birth control was a violation of his marital privacy. The court agreed with those claims, so Griswold won. This case was essential to the development of the right to privacy and some of the boundaries it would cover. (Strum, Philippa. "Griswold v.