"`` There is no constitutional right to be protected by the state ( or Federal ) against being murdered by criminals or madmen . It is monstrous if the state fails to protect its residents against such predators but it does not violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment , or , we suppose , any other provision of the Constitution . The Constitution is a charter of negative liberties : it tells the state ( gov't ) to let people alone ; it does not require the federal government or the state to provide services , even so elementary a service as maintaining law and order `` ( Bowers v. DeVito , U.S. Court of Appeals , Seventh Circuit , 686F.2d 616 [ 1982 ] ) ."
"Aye there 's the rub !"
"The Constitution is a charter of negative liberties"
"Aye there 's the rub !"