The Constitution
Ninth Amendment
The enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
In full
The clause answers the Federalist objection that listing rights would imply the omitted ones do not exist. Courts have rarely used it as an independent source of rights, treating it instead as an interpretive rule. It appears in debates over unenumerated rights, usually alongside the Due Process Clause rather than on its own.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.