The California Constitution guarantees a right of privacy. And you don’t have to read too far in to find that guarantee. It’s in the first section of the first Article.
All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.
This right to privacy is “self-executing.” That means that “it confers a judicial right of action on all Californians. Privacy is protected not merely against state action. It is considered an inalienable right which may not be violated by anyone.” Hill v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn., 7 Cal.4th 1, 18 (1994). So if anyone violates your privacy rights, you can sue.
The right to privacy gets a lot of attention these days, partly due to all the technical advances in ways that information and images can be disseminated. What gets less attention is the right to happiness. But isn’t that also a self-executing, inalienable right? If some aspect of working makes some employees unhappy, can they sue their employer? Can people sue anyone who makes them unhappy – the dry cleaner who doesn’t have your clothes ready, the restaurant with slow service, the bus that’s late?
So far, there doesn’t seem to be any litigation arising from the right to happiness. But when there is, you know which state will be on the forefront.