Civil liberties are fundamental rights that protect people from the power of the state and help to ensure that government power is limited. They are enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution and include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to privacy. Civil liberties also refer to other rights that are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but that have been recognized by courts as being equally important for a functioning democracy. For example, due process protections are considered civil liberties because they prevent arbitrary imprisonment and other abuses of state power.
Without civil liberties, citizens would be subject to arbitrary imprisonment, censorship, and other abuses of power by the state. Civil liberties help to ensure that government power is limited and that citizens can hold the government accountable.
Civil liberties are not absolute: they can be subject to reasonable restrictions in the interests of public safety or national security interests. However, these restrictions must be clearly justified under law and should not be used as pretexts for restricting basic freedoms or rights unnecessarily.
The US Supreme Court has played a key role in upholding civil liberties through its rulings on constitutional cases (see Marbury v Madison).
