Griswold v. Connecticut

=Case Number=
 * Full Case Name: Estelle T. Griswold and C. Lee Buxton v. Connecticut
 * Deciding Court: Warren Court
 * Oral Argument: March 29 - 30, 1965
 * Decision: Monday, June 7, 1965

=Facts of the Case= Griswold was the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut. Both she and the Medical Director for the League gave information, instruction, and other medical advice to married couples concerning birth control. Griswold and her colleague were convicted under a Connecticut law which criminalized the provision of counselling, and other medical treatment, to married persons for purposes of preventing conception.

Question Posed to the Court
Does the Constitution protect the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on a couple's ability to be counseled in the use of contraceptives?

Final Court Ruling
Though the Constitution does not explicitly protect a general right to privacy, the various guarantees within the Bill of Rights create penumbras, or zones, that establish a right to privacy. Together, the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, create a new constitutional right, the right to privacy in marital relations. The Connecticut statute conflicts with the exercise of this right and is therefore null and void.