Also known as: enumerates · enumerated · enumerating · enumeration · enumerator · enumerators
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To list or specify items individually. In constitutional law the term identifies the particular powers granted to Congress or the particular rights secured to individuals.
Congress passes a statute creating a national bank to collect taxes and regulate commerce. Edgar Evers, a state tax collector, challenges the charter as beyond any power listed in Article I. The Court upholds the statute because the enumerated powers include fiscal authority and the Necessary and Proper Clause permits selection of means to execute those powers.
The decennial census counts the population of each state. Elise Everly, a state official, argues that a proposed direct tax violates Article I Section 9 because it is not apportioned according to the enumeration. The statute requires any direct tax to be laid in proportion to the census or enumeration, so the tax is invalid.
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A state statute bans married couples from using contraceptives. Elijah Edwards, a physician, is convicted for providing advice. The Court holds that the Ninth Amendment prevents the enumeration of certain rights from denying other retained liberties, so the statute is invalid.
Maryland imposes a tax on notes issued by the Second Bank of the United States. Eduardo Enriquez, the bank cashier, refuses payment. The Court concludes that Congress may employ a corporation to execute its enumerated fiscal powers even though no such entity is expressly named in the Constitution.
A village adopts an ordinance that places land into districts and enumerates allowed building types in each district. Enzo Eastwood, a property owner, seeks to build a commercial structure in a residential zone. The ordinance's enumeration of uses controls, so the proposed structure is prohibited.
State law limits marriage to opposite-sex couples. Ella Emerson and her partner seek a license. The Court explains that the Due Process Clause protects liberties not limited to those enumerated in the Bill of Rights, so the restriction is unconstitutional.
The Ninth Amendment provides that the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. This clause prevents the listing of specific rights from implying that unlisted rights are unprotected.
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The Clause authorizes Congress to select appropriate means to carry into execution its enumerated powers. It supplies auxiliary authority rather than an independent source of substantive legislative power.
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No. The Ninth Amendment expressly states that listing particular rights does not deny or disparage others retained by the people. Courts therefore recognize unenumerated liberties such as privacy interests.
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Congress may charter corporations when doing so implements an enumerated power such as taxing or regulating commerce. The charter itself is not an independent substantive power but a permissible means under the Necessary and Proper Clause.
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…liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The fundamental liberties protected by this Clause include most of the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights. See Duncan v. Louisiana , 391 U.S. 145, 147–149 (1968). In addition these liberties extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy,…