Which begs the question?
When conservatives keep braying they want a "Constitutional Government"...have they even read the damn thing?
Yep many times! Next question.
What people don't realize is that with constitutional law its just as important (if not more important) to know case law as it is to know the constitution. For example, libertarians love to tout that they follow the consitution literally and that the constitution expressly protects the right to privacy our, most fundamental right (which is their prime argument to get rid of the Patriot Act). However, the right to privacy isn't in the constitution! Without case law interpretations, we WOULDN'T HAVE IT! In
Griswold, which was a Planned Parenthood case on contraceptives, the a right to privacy was established, by the reasoning it's within the prenumbras (shadows) of the bill of rights.
Roe v. Wade further strengthen the right to privacy (in the abortion arena). Interesting both involved reproduction rights.
Miranda Rights aren't in the constitution, they are the norm given by
Miranda v. AZ!
Take the "I gotta ya tactic" the left used on O'Donnell in the Separation of Church and State. She said it wasn't in the constitution and the left mocked her! Yet she was RIGHT! The Separation of Church and State, which is a norm and pretty much undisputed principle of this country, was NOT established until the 1940s or 50s (can't remember which) in the
Emerson case. This is where Separation of Church and State came about. It case law that created it!