Joanne R. Pompano
The court expanded the existing doctrine to include personal rights in the 1923 case of Meyer v. Nebraska. This decision struck down a Nebraska ban on the teaching of foreign languages in elementary schools. (3) Thus, the Court held that the federal Constitution implied a right to privacy.
Brandies is quoted:
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The makers of our Constitution sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred as against the Government, the right to be let alonethe most comprehensive of the rights of man and the right most valued by civilized men. (Justice Louis D. Brandies (dissenting in the Olmstead decision, l928) (4)
In l965, the Supreme Court first recognized a constitutional right of privacy in the decision of the case Griswold v. Connecticut. In this case, a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples was struck down. Justice William O. Douglas, writing for the Majority Opinion, stated that there is a “zone of privacy” created by fundamental constitutional guarantees included in the First, Fourth, and Fifth amendments. (5)
This later led to the decision Roe v. Wade, which overturned most state prohibitions on abortions. Thus, the Supreme Court through such cases has recognized an individuals’ right to privacy. (6)
The U.S. Privacy Act of 1974, guarantees individuals access to many government files including files pertaining to themselves. Government agencies are prohibited from disclosing information from these files except under a court order or other limited circumstances. (7)