FindLaw survey: Law Day and constitutional rights
Today is Law Day in the US, so FindLaw wanted to look at Americans’ feelings on the basis for their legal rights: the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
FindLaw asked 1,000 Americans what constitutional right they consider to be most important. The results were somewhat surprising:
Freedom of speech: 30%
Due process rights: 20%
Right to keep and bear arms: 12%
Free exercise of religion: 11%
Voting rights: 10%
Protection against cruel and unusual punishment: 6%
Protection against unreasonable search and seizure: 5%
Criminal trial rights: 4%
Freedom of the press: 2%
Prof. Arthur Miller of New York University School of Law and co-author of Federal Practice and Procedure, published by West, offered this poignant reminder about Law Day: “Americans are blessed with more rights than any other people on the planet and we are particularly fortunate that they are enshrined in our constitution.”