Bill of Rights, Bill of Rights Summary

Bill of Rights

A bill of rights is a list of fundamental rights guaranteed by citizens. The purpose of a bill of rights is to protect the rights of individuals from infringement by public officials and private citizens. 

AMENDMENT I

Congress must not legislate on respect for a religious institution, prohibit its free exercise, limit freedom of speech or the press, or the right of the people to assemble peacefully and ask the government to remedy the grievances. 

AMENDMENT II

A well-regulated militia, necessary for the security of a free state, must not violate the people's right to own and bear arms.

AMENDMENT III

No soldier may be lodged in a house in peace without the owner's consent, nor in time of war, but the manner prescribed by law.

AMENDMENT IV

The right of persons to the security of their persons, their homes, their papers, and their property against unreasonable searches and seizures must not be violated, and no warrant of arrest must be issued, except for probable cause, supported by an oath or an acknowledgment and in particular a description of the place. 

AMENDMENT V

Nobody may be tried for a capital offense or another horrible crime without a grand jury's indictment or trial, with the exception of cases involving the land, sea, or militia when they are engaged in military duty. A person cannot be again placed in danger of losing their life or their physical integrity for the same crime. Additionally, they cannot be made to testify against themselves in court. They also cannot be taken from them without just compensation for public use of their private property.

AMENDMENT VI

The right to a prompt and open trial by an unbiased jury from the state and district where the alleged crime was committed exists in every criminal case. Witnesses for the prosecution will be charged.

AMENDMENT VII

The right to a jury trial must be upheld in any common law action when the stakes are higher than $20, and any evidence heard by a jury must be analyzed by a court of the United States in accordance with the common law.

AMENDMENT VIII

Excessive deposits cannot be requested, excessive fines imposed, or cruel and unusual punishment imposed.

AMENDMENT IX

The enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution should not be interpreted as the denial or denigration of others due to the people.

AMENDMENT X

Powers not conferred on the United States by the Constitution or prohibited to the states are reserved for the states or the people, as the case may be.

Recent efforts by some state legislatures and other groups to amend the US Constitution have raised questions about the process. When writing the Constitution, the Founding Fathers thought that changing the founding document and the nation's principles should not be easy.