Reproduction of the original: The Right to Privacy by Samuel D. Warren, Louis D. Brandeis

First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

American courts have shaped, debated, honored, and protected our right to privacy for more than two hundred years. This compelling resource reviews the constitutional roots of the right to privacy, from the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches to the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of personal liberty. The court cases presented show how privacy rights apply in nearly every area of our lives--at school, at work, in our homes, in our personal communications, in our doctor's offices, and in our relationships. They also demonstrate how privacy rights have evolved in a high-tech, complex world.

A thorough introduction to privacy law, covering landmark cases, important themes, historical curiosities, and enduring controversies. The Right to Privacy: Rights and Liberties under the Law measures the impact of what Louis Brandeis called, "The most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized man." As the book shows, an individual's right to privacy is not a written-in-stone concept, but one that emerged from the "shadows" of a number of amendments and court decisions. The book traces that concept to its philosophical and common law roots, then looks at how privacy rights have been interpreted, expanded, and sometimes curtailed throughout the 20th century. It concludes with a review of privacy rights today, examining landmark recent cases involving euthanasia, polygamy, reproductive rights for inmates, same-sex unions, adoption by gays and lesbians, the right to withhold personal information, and more.