Amendment 9 of 27 · Bill of Rights · 1791
Ninth Amendment
Rights not listed
The one-line version
The Constitution lists some of your rights, but not all of them. You keep rights that are not on the list.
The Ninth Amendment in plain English
Just because a right is not specifically listed in the Constitution does not mean the people do not have it. Listing some rights does not deny or diminish other rights the people keep.
Original text, 1791
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Phrase by phrase
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights
- The Constitution lists some rights.
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
- That list must not be read to erase or weaken other rights.
retained by the people
- The people keep those other rights.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
Nowhere does the Constitution say you can move to another state. It also never says parents can send their kids to a private school. Courts have still said you have both rights. The Ninth Amendment is a reminder that a right does not have to be on the list to be real.
What this means for you
Rights do not have to be listed
The Ninth Amendment is a rule about how to read the Constitution. It is not a list of specific rights. It tells courts not to assume a right is missing just because the Bill of Rights does not name it.
How courts use it
Courts rarely base a ruling on the Ninth Amendment alone. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Court protected married couples' right to use birth control. One concurring opinion, meaning a separate opinion that agrees with the result, relied on the Ninth Amendment.
Most rulings that protect unlisted rights rely on the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause instead.
Why it still matters
The amendment states a principle: the list of rights in the Constitution is not complete. Rights that are not written down can still be real. Courts, lawmakers, and voters decide which ones are protected and how.
Myth check
MythIf a right isn't written in the Constitution, I don't have it.
FactThe Ninth Amendment says the list is not complete. Courts have recognized some unlisted rights, such as the right to travel between states. Most of those rulings rely on the Fourteenth Amendment.
MythThe Ninth Amendment lets a judge create any right they want.
FactCourts almost never rely on the Ninth Amendment alone. Judges and scholars still disagree about how much it does by itself.
Common questions
What does the Ninth Amendment say in simple terms?
It means the list of rights in the Constitution is not complete. The fact that some rights are written down does not mean people lack other rights. The amendment does not name which unlisted rights exist.
What rights does the Ninth Amendment protect?
It does not list any. Courts have recognized some unlisted rights, such as the right to travel between states. Most of those rulings rely on other parts of the Constitution, especially the Fourteenth Amendment, not the Ninth Amendment alone. Which unlisted rights are protected is still debated.
Is privacy a right under the Ninth Amendment?
Some justices have said it is partly. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court found a right to privacy that covered married couples' use of birth control. The main opinion pointed to several amendments. A concurring opinion relied heavily on the Ninth Amendment.
Can judges use the Ninth Amendment to create new rights?
Rarely. Courts almost never rely on the Ninth Amendment alone to protect a right. Judges and scholars disagree about how much it does by itself. Some see it as a source of unlisted rights. Others see it as a rule for how to read the rest of the Constitution.
Go deeper
The scene · 1791
In 1788, some leaders worried about adding a list of rights to the Constitution. They feared a list would look complete, so any right left off could be lost. James Madison wrote the Ninth Amendment to answer that worry. It was ratified with the rest of the Bill of Rights in 1791.
Back then
Alexander Hamilton argued in The Federalist No. 84 that a bill of rights was not needed and could be dangerous. He worried that listing some rights would suggest the government could limit any right not listed. Madison agreed the risk was real. The Ninth Amendment was his answer.
Words that changed
- “enumeration”
ThenA list, or counting things one by one.
NowStill means a list. Here it means the rights the Constitution names.
- “disparage”
ThenTo lower in value or importance.
NowToday it usually means to insult. Here it means to weaken.
Who argued what
Read it as a source of rights
Some scholars say the amendment protects real, unlisted rights, and courts should enforce them like listed ones.
Read it as a rule about federal power
Other scholars say it only stops anyone from using the list of rights to expand federal power. On this view, it does not let judges find new rights.
Key cases
- 1965
Griswold v. Connecticut
A state ban on married couples using birth control violated a right to privacy; one concurring opinion relied on the Ninth Amendment.
More history and context
The Ninth Amendment was ratified in 1791 with the rest of the Bill of Rights. During the ratification debates, some people worried that listing certain rights would suggest the federal government could limit any right not listed. James Madison, who drafted the Bill of Rights, wrote this amendment to prevent that reading.
The amendment is rarely the main basis for a court ruling. Justice Arthur Goldberg's concurring opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) is the best-known use of it. Even in that case, the majority opinion named it only as one of several sources of a right to privacy.
Scholars debate what the Ninth Amendment was meant to do. Some read it as a source of rights that courts should enforce. Others read it as a limit on federal power, not a source of individual rights. The Supreme Court has not settled this question.
Quick check
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