What is the purpose of the Ninth Amendment?

What is the purpose of the Ninth Amendment?

• A. Reserves powers not mentioned in the Constitution to the states.
• B. Protects against double jeopardy.
• C. Reserves rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution to the people.
• D. Establishes the supremacy of federal law.

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is that rights beyond what’s written in the Constitution are retained by the people. The Ninth Amendment says that listing some rights in the Constitution doesn’t mean that other rights don’t exist. In other words, you have protections and liberties that aren’t spelled out on paper, and the government can’t treat the enumeration as an exhaustive list of all your rights. That’s why the statement about reserving rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution to the people is the best fit. It captures the guarantee that unenumerated rights—those not explicitly named—still belong to the people and must be respected. To relate it to other ideas you might see in the Constitution: one amendment protects against being tried twice for the same offense, which is about due process and double jeopardy. Another element establishes that federal law is the supreme law of the land, a different aspect of the relationship between national and federal authority. And the idea that powers not given to the federal government belong to the states is the Tenth Amendment.

The main idea being tested is that rights beyond what’s written in the Constitution are retained by the people. The Ninth Amendment says that listing some rights in the Constitution doesn’t mean that other rights don’t exist. In other words, you have protections and liberties that aren’t spelled out on paper, and the government can’t treat the enumeration as an exhaustive list of all your rights.

That’s why the statement about reserving rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution to the people is the best fit. It captures the guarantee that unenumerated rights—those not explicitly named—still belong to the people and must be respected.

To relate it to other ideas you might see in the Constitution: one amendment protects against being tried twice for the same offense, which is about due process and double jeopardy. Another element establishes that federal law is the supreme law of the land, a different aspect of the relationship between national and federal authority. And the idea that powers not given to the federal government belong to the states is the Tenth Amendment.