[MORTARDUDE]

"Constitutional Right to Protection of Privacy"

By Ralph S. Curtis

In recent years, I have seen the constitutional right to privacy referred to with increasing frequency in legal matters. Perhaps this is because, as our society grows and becomes more complex, individual rights are more affected by others and it becomes more important to be able to protect one's privacy.
In California, there is a right to privacy set forth in Article I of our Constitution. This is unlike the federal Constitution, where privacy rights have been implied by the courts but never actually stated in the document.

The California Constitution states: "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy."

Privacy was added to the constitution by an amendment approved by the voters in 1972. An election brochure published in support of the amendment stated that it was necessary because government snooping and data collecting was threatening traditional freedoms.

Reference was made to what was then a new practice of computerizing records. The brochure noted that there were no restraints on information gathering by government and businesses. People were losing control over the accuracy of records being kept and often did not even know that records existed. The brochure said that unnecessary stockpiling and misuse of information should be prevented. Courts have referred to that election brochure to assist in determining the intent of the voters when they passed the amendment.

The right to privacy has been asserted in California in many areas. Initially, it was applied to police surveillance activities in university classrooms. In the case of White v. Davis, a lawsuit was filed to prevent the Los Angeles police department from sending officers posing as students into classes at UCLA. The officers were "gathering intelligence" on the discussions in the classrooms.

The Supreme Court held that such activity was an example of a threat to personal privacy contrary to the constitution.

The right to privacy has also served to protect against mandatory lie detector tests used as part of the hiring process by some employers. It has prevented disclosure of employees' personnel records except in limited cases and has limited the use of medical records without the consent of the patient.

It has also been involved in issues relating to abortion and a person's right to die. In one case, a California appellatecourt held that a competent adult patient with an incurable illness had the right to have life-support equipment disconnected. The court stated that the right to privacy gives an individual the freedom to reject intrusions into his or her body.

I expect that as society grows more complex, our constitutional right to privacy will become ever more important as a safeguard of our individual freedoms.