This was my first diary over at Daily Kos. Originally published April 13, 2009.
In 1965, in Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479) , the Supreme Court ruled that the right of married couples to use contraception was protected by the right of privacy. Justice Arthur Goldberg, in a concurring opinion used the long-forgotten 9th Amendment to defend his decision:
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
During these past 44 years, there has been little use of the 9th Amendment to establish new rights under the Constitution. Instead, the Courts have looked to the 14th Amendment and its Due Process Clause, such as in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113) and Lawrence v. Texas (539 U.S. 558). The 9th Amendment, meanwhile, has seemingly been consigned to the ash heaps of history largely being unused by citizens attempting to establish their rights, and courts establishing those rights.
