Bill of Rights

Definition of Bill of Rights

Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Bill of Rights legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia

The enumeration of rights of individuals legally protected against violation by government. The Bill of Rights for the United States is found in the federal Constitution and its amendments, especially the first ten. The Bill of Rights is broader than just the first ten amendments, however. The protection of a number of rights was included in the body of the original Constitution of 1787. For example, Article I, Section 9, prohibits bills of attainder and ex post facto laws, and Article VI bans religious tests for public officials. In addition, there are personal rights protected by the amendments added subsequent to the Civil War. The Thirteenth and Fifteenth Amendments prohibit slavery and racially discriminatory voting practices, respectively. The Twenty-fourth Amendment outlaws the poll tax while the Twenty-sixth Amendment establishes 18 as the minimum voting age throughout the country. Although it does not enumerate any new personal rights, the Fourteenth Amendment, added in 1868, has played a crucial role in broadening the enforcement of all rights by extending the basic protection of most rights to the states. The first ten amendments guarantee: (l)the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and peaceful protest; (2) the right to bear arms in order to maintain a well-regulated militia; (3) freedom from having soldiers quartered in one's home; (4) freedom from search and seizure without probable cause; (5) the requirement of grand jury indictment for all but military crimes, freedom from double jeopardy and judicial self-incrimination, and the guarantee of legal due process, as well as just compensation for publicly appropriated private property; (6) the right to a speedy, public, and impartial trial, with the right to know the charge, the right to compel witnesses for the defense, and the right to have legal counsel; (7) the right to jury trial for civil matters concerning $20 or more, and the prohibition of judicial review of such trials except in accordance with civil law; and (8) prohibition of excessive bails or fines and of cruel and unusual punishment. The last two of the original ten amendments declared that of those rights not enumerated in the Constitution or its amendments, individuals enjoy all other rights except those delegated to the central government, reserved to individual states, or forbidden by the states. When the federal Constitution was drafted in 1787, it contained various guarantees in the body of the text but lacked a specific bill. The omission received more public criticism from opponents of ratification than did any other aspect of the Constitution. Among the proponents for ratification without a bill of rights, Alexander Hamilton considered a separate bill unnecessary because he said the states already had the power to protect individual rights. He believed an enumeration of rights to be dangerous because any listing might be considered exhaustive. Hamilton argued that social diversity and watchfulness were the ultimate guarantees of personal rights. Although James Madison originally agreed with Hamilton, he eventually came to support the drafting of a separate bill of rights. Madison was persuaded by his friend, Thomas Jefferson, and perhaps convinced by political necessity as well. Two months after the Congress convened in 1789, Madison proposed a federal bill of rights. He became the document's prime author, relying heavily on the Virginia Declaration of Rights and Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom. On September 25, 1789, Congress approved the Bill of Rights, which was subsequently ratified by the state legislatures.

See Also

Civil Liberties (Law of the United States) Judicial Review (Law of the United States).

Resources

Bill of Rights Related Resources

• Bill of Rights in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Effects and Policies Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Policies Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary

Notes

• “Bill of Rights”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Bill of Rights (Judicial Policies)

Bill of Rights

There is an additional definition in the world law dictionary.

Resources

See Also

• Bill
• Patient's Bill of Rights