A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO READ:
READER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

Eric Robertson

Bookstore customers and library patrons typically expect their book purchases and book-borrowing habits to remain private, but what is the legal basis for this expectation and is it justified?

This Comment examines court decisions, readers’ privacy scholarship, and First Amendment jurisprudence in search of a consistent answer.  Although courts and scholars have taken different approaches in identifying a right to readers’ privacy and what activity it encompasses, this Comment concludes that a right to reader privacy is fundamental under the First Amendment. 

In the end, this Comment seeks to provide a simplified solution to the complex constitutional issues that can arise in light of the question posed above.