ABSTRACT
Fundamental rights are the most highly valued rights in civil society. In the United States, fundamental rights are thought to be implicit in the founding documents of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The judicial branch, typically the US Supreme Court, gives effect to these "rights" when cases arise that challenge one of their core values. A judge's values can be used as one way to measure whether a value is fundamental according to the con-stitutional design. This practice is typically viewed as undemocratic because it seems to replace the people's vote with the single vote of an unelected judge. Traditional values have often been used to invoke the claim that a right is fundamental. But in a democratic society, tradition usually rests on the shoulders of a temporary majority who often falls out of favor at some point during the ebb and flow of electoral cycles.
