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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
The U. S. Constitution spells out many of the powers of the various branches of government, from the President down to local government. And it spells out many of your and my freedoms and limitations on freedoms. Besides that, the Supreme Court has added laws, and adjustments to those laws, which can be viewed as an "unwritten constitution."
Judicial review: Early on, the Supreme Court defined some of its own powers. In particular, the Supreme Court can decide upon the legality of the acts of the other branches of government (Marbury v. Madison). This includes laws made by Congress or by the states; the Supreme Court can strike down a law as unconstitutional.
Common law: England has no formal constitution. Their "constitution" is the accumulation of court cases down through history. Their law of the land is what judges say, in addition to the laws made by Parliament. The U.S.A. has inherited some of this "common law." And the courts have added much more. But the Court has decided that there are no common law crimes; the laws that you are accused of breaking must have been enacted by federal, state, or local legislative bodies.
Comity: State and federal governments don't normally interfere with each other.
Substantive due process: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee that the government cannot deprive a person of life or liberty without due process of the law. Substantive due process is the further stipulation that this due process must be reasonable and fair.
Exclusionary rule: In a criminal case, illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a trial.
Miranda rights: Related to the excusionary rule are your Miranda rights (Miranda v. Arizona): (1) You have a right to remain silent; (2) anything you say may be used against you; (3) you have the right to an attorney; (4) if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.
Privacy: The Right to Privacy seems inconsistent and crudely defined. A person has a right to an abortion, under the right to privacy (Roe v. Wade).
Additional rights: FDR's four freedoms included freedom from want and freedom from fear. The courts agree (more or less). There is also a right of family autonomy; in other words, the family has rights similar to those of an individual. A person has a right to work. A person has a right to travel, at home and abroad. Freedom of association is included in freedom of speech. And there are various other "civil rights." A person does not have the right to die, in general.
All of this is controversial to some extent, some more than others. But such additional rules seem necessary. For example, police have been known to abuse human rights, even in America. Punishing the police seldom works. To prevent them from beating a confession out of you, the Court has decided that such a confession cannot be used as evidence in court. It makes sense.
Right to counsel: The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) give us the right to counsel (a lawyer). The Massiah (Massiah v. USA) doctrine says that once you have invoked your right to counsel, you cannot be questioned without your lawyer present, even by planted informants.