The Right To Privacy

The Right To Privacy

In what is certain to be one of the most talked-about books of the year, Alderman and Kennedy examine one of our basic--and most contested--legal and constitutional rights: the right to privacy. Through a seamless interweaving of landmark cases, lesser-known trial decisions, and dozens of anecdotal narratives, the authors make an urgent, complicated issue more absorbing and accessible than ever before. YA?Stories of individuals who have gone to court to protect their privacy rights are divided into six legally recognized interests. Extensive notes provide legal citations and, where appropriate, additional commentary. Students may be surprised by the limits of privacy rights, the variations in the law from state to state, and the differences in verdicts among seemingly similar cases. Readers may well be riveted to such narrations as that in Cooper v. Anderson (17-year-old Jeff Cooper's friends videotaped him having sex with Debbie Anderson, 19, without Anderson's knowledge or approval). Routine strip searches of women accused of such minor offenses as traffic tickets, right-to-die decisions, ownership of frozen embryos, drug interdiction, televised death, a school administrator's search of a student's pocketbook, and a forced Cesarean section performed on a terminally ill patient against the wishes of her family are all of likely interest to older students. Teachers may effectively choose excerpts to illustrate or elicit discussions. Students may find topics for further research, seek to clarify or advance their legal understanding, or just dip in for the stories.?Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas once described privacy as a right older than the Bill of Rights. The evolution in the 20th century of a recognized "right of privacy" represents spectacular growth in the areas of tort and constitutional law. Attorneys Alderman and Kennedy expand on a topic only briefly treated in their In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action (LJ 1/91). As their preface notes, privacy, although not expressly mentioned in the Constitution, is held by most people to be a basic and fundamental right and a right that is under siege today. Using a series of well-selected court cases, the authors compile a catalog of horrors that represent attacks on privacy, ranging from two-way mirrors in department store dressing rooms and law enforcement "strip" searches to lifestyle enforcement, controversies over contraception and abortion, and right-to-die cases. McLean (journalism, Western Illinois Univ.) has a somewhat familiar purpose: not only to show that Americans view privacy as a fundamental right but to explain why we attach such importance to the concept. McLean all too briefly summarizes the history and evolution of privacy and outlines some of the ways privacy is violated. For many reasons, the Alderman and Kennedy book will be preferred by most readers; by using concrete illustrations, it better defines the notions of privacy under attack in specific instances. The McLean book merely describes in summary fashion the same ideas. Alderman and Kennedy write in a highly readable style and chronicle the vigilance necessary to protect a cherished right; McLean writes in the fashion of the academy. The Right to Privacy is strongly recommended for all libraries. -?Jerry E. Stephens, U.S. Court of Appeals Lib., Oklahoma City Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. The authors present a valuable book, identical in purpose and format to their previous one, In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights (1991). In what amounts to mandatory reading for all citizens who consider themselves politically aware, Alderman and Kennedy's manual offers "an understanding of the legal right to privacy" by reviewing model cases. Their analysis is divided into sections corresponding to major areas of encroachments against privacy, including those in the workplace, in the press, and, "perhaps the scariest threat to privacy," by way of the computer. An important point underscores the examination: personal privacy is being assaulted to a greater degree than the authors had suspected at the outset of their study. Caroline Kennedy's name may be the initial calling card for some readers, but the significance of the book and its accessibility trump any celebrity aspect. All public libraries should consider purchasing. Brad Hooper ertain to be one of the most talked-about books of the year, Alderman and Kennedy examine one of our basic--and most contested--legal and constitutional rights: the right to privacy. Through a seamless interweaving of landmark cases, lesser-known trial decisions, and dozens of anecdotal narratives, the authors make an urgent, complicated issue more absorbing and accessible than ever before.