Police Technology and Surveillance
License Plate Readers: How Police Track Vehicle Movements
Where the law allows, police can save a car’s location even when its plate matches none of the vehicles they are looking for. License plate readers…
Constitutional Rights
Constitutional rights are the individual freedoms and protections the Constitution and its amendments place beyond the reach of government. They limit what federal, state, and local officials can do to people. Courts decide what these rights mean in practice, and the meaning has shifted over time as judges apply old text to changing situations. The topics below cover the main areas.
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October 10last updated
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The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »
Latest in Constitutional Rights
Defenses to Removal
Deportation to a Third Country: Notice and Legal Rights
A third-country removal sends a person being deported somewhere other than the country their removal order names. It can happen to people with final removal orders,…
Freedom of Speech Press and Assembly
What the First Amendment Actually Protects
Learn what the First Amendment protects, from workplace speech to threats, protests, and campaign spending, using three key questions.
Privacy and Protection From Searches
What a Search Warrant Actually Allows FBI Agents to Take
On the morning of February 25, 2026, FBI agents arrived at two locations: the San Pedro home of Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified…
Topics in Constitutional Rights
Expression and belief
Speech, press, and assembly rights are covered in Freedom of Speech Press and Assembly, and the relationship between faith and government is covered in Religious Freedom.
Fair treatment
Government must follow fair procedures, explained in Due Process and Fair Treatment, and its power to search and watch people is limited, as shown in Privacy and Protection From Searches. Protections for people charged with offenses appear in Rights of People Accused of Crimes.
Due Process and Fair Treatment
27 articles
- How a Grand Jury Failure Could End the Case Against Comey
- When You Can Sue the Government
- How Article IV Guarantees Your Rights
Property and arms
Ownership and what the government may do to it is covered in Property Rights, and gun ownership is covered in Right to Bear Arms.
All Articles on Constitutional Rights
The Speech or Debate Clause: Why Prosecuting Lawmakers Is Nearly Impossible
Grand juries indict more than ninety percent of the time when federal prosecutors ask them to. This wasn't one of those times. The Trump…
When Government Officials Post Offensive Content: What the Law Allows
On Thursday night, February 5, 2026, at 11:44 PM ET, President Donald Trump posted a 62-second video to Truth Social showing former President Barack…
The Legal Standard FBI Must Meet to Search a Journalist’s Home
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson, a Washington Post reporter covering education, in January 2026—without arrest, advance…
A Reporter’s Seized Laptop and the Risk to Confidential Sources
FBI agents walked into Hannah Natanson's Virginia home on January 14, 2026, and seized her laptop, phone, and smartwatch. With those electronics, they gained…
Article I Courts: How America’s Legislative Tribunals Work
The American judicial system is frequently visualized through the lens of the Supreme Court: nine justices in black robes, serving for life, issuing final…
When Can the Government Discipline Teachers for Social Media Posts?
More than 350 Texas educators face investigation by state officials for social media posts they made about Charlie Kirk's assassination. Some have been fired.…
9th Circuit Strikes Down California’s Open Carry Ban: What It Means for Gun Rights Nationwide
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in counties with more than 200,000…
What the Supreme Court’s Gun-and-Marijuana Case Could Mean for Millions of Cannabis Users
On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that forces millions of Americans to choose between two things most…
The Government’s Split Courts: How Independent Commissions Decide Your Case
When a federal agency accuses you of breaking the rules, who decides if you're guilty? In most cases, it's not a federal judge—it's an…
What the Supreme Court’s Hemani Ruling Means for Gun Ownership
The Hemani gun-rights ruling limits disarmament based on marijuana use, while separate firearm eligibility, permit and restoration rules still matter.