Jack of Harts

The Ninth Amendment of the US Constitution is one of the more controversial amendments. It states that noting certain rights in the Constitution “shall not” be defined as denying other rights “retained by the people.” The controversy arises from a difference in opinion on how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights should be understood. Some people say that the Bill of Rights shows certain liberties the government grants to the people. Others say that the Bill of Rights recognizes liberties that the people have refused to give up to the government. People who understand it the second way see the Ninth Amendment as stating very clearly that there are other liberties “retained by the people” that have simply not been written down. That there is a “presumption of liberty” on the part of the people. Those who believe the government grants certain and clearly stated rights tend not to agree with this understanding, and many of the political disagreements we have to this day revolve around those two fundamental differences.

The Seventh Amendment to the US Constitution dictates that in any common law suit involving more than twenty dollars, there is a right to a trial by jury. In addition, if a jury rules on a fact, that fact cannot be re-examined in a court by any standard outside the common law. The law at the time was heavily weighted in favor of those who could pay the most money for their justice, and the jury trial was seen as a way to limit that. And stating that the jury’s verdict was final was meant to stop dissatisfied litigants from simply going to a more friendly court and suing again. These were real life issues with the common law of the time that the Founding Fathers wanted to see forever banned in America.