Also known as: private · right to privacy
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A right protecting individuals from unwarranted governmental or public intrusion into personal matters and decisions.
Perry Pratt faces criminal charges and objects when prosecutors seek to compel testimony about his private medical decisions. The court applies the Fifth Amendment protections to shield those personal matters from compelled disclosure. Pratt's privacy interest prevails because the government cannot force revelation of fundamentally personal choices without due process safeguards.
Patricia Patel sues Pulse Media and notices a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition. The company designates an officer but must furnish only information known or reasonably available to the organization. The court enforces the rule's designation and conferral requirements without expanding beyond the matters described with reasonable particularity.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Paige Porter, a former state employee, joins a firm representing a client adverse to a person whose confidential records she once handled. The firm screens her from the matter. Porter's prior access triggers the rule's prohibition on using confidential government information to the material disadvantage of that person.
Paul Peterson operates a loud facility next to Portia Price's home that invades her quiet use of the property. Price sues claiming the nontrespassory interference disrupts her private enjoyment of land. The court finds a private nuisance because the activity substantially impairs Price's interest in seclusion on her own parcel.
Preston Pratt, an unmarried man, is denied contraceptives under a state law that allows distribution only to married couples. He challenges the statute as violating his personal right to make intimate decisions free from government interference. The court strikes the law because privacy inheres in the individual regardless of marital status.
Phoenix Technologies defaults on a loan secured by equipment and the secured party plans a private disposition of the collateral. The debtor objects to the sale terms. The court requires that every aspect of the disposition, including method, manner, time, place, and terms, be commercially reasonable.
Yes. The right of privacy belongs to the individual and protects decisions about whether to bear or beget a child regardless of marital status. A statute that distinguishes between married and unmarried persons in access to contraceptives violates equal protection by denying that individual right.
A person must exhibit an actual subjective expectation of privacy that society recognizes as reasonable. Matters knowingly exposed to the public receive no protection while efforts to preserve privacy even in public areas may be safeguarded.
A lawyer possessing confidential government information about a person may not represent a private client adverse to that person if the information could cause material disadvantage. The firm may proceed only if the disqualified lawyer is timely screened and receives no fee from the matter.
A judge may not misuse court resources for private activities or engage in conduct that creates an appearance of partiality. Using court staff and equipment for personal teaching or allowing an advocacy group to use courthouse space undermines judicial independence.
…to obtain a mandamus one must show the patent is recorded and clerks can be called to prove that fact. Similarly, if a private act of Congress had passed for one's benefit and a copy was needed in court, the clerks could prove the act is among the rolls. The court ordered the witnesses to be sworn and their…