It seems the U.S. Supreme Court values some of your rights more than others. Free speech got a thumbs up during the 2010-2011 term, but the Fourth Amendment took a beating.

The Supreme Court also made several rulings in favor of big business to the detriment of everyday citizens.

ACLU National Legal Director Steven R. Shapiro reports on all the details in his summary of the term, including the Supreme Court's strong stance for the First Amendment.

Whether it be the free speech rights of video game manufacturers (Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association), anti-gay members of the Westboro Baptist Church (Snyder v. Phelps) or  political candidates (Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett), the Supreme Court repeatedly ruled against laws that infringe upon free speech rights.

But the Court also dealt horrible blows to our Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The worst of those was in Kentucky v. King, in which SCOTUS ruled that police can enter an residence without a warrant if after knocking they hear sounds that lead them to believe the residents may be destroying evidence. In other words, don't flush the toilet if the police are at the door.

Corporations were big winners this term when SCOTUS ruled that companies can prohibit class-wide arbitration simply by including a clause in standard contracts saying that all claims must be individually settled (AT&T v. Concepcion) and that female employees of Wal-Mart can't sue the corporation via class action suit (Wal-Mart v. Duke).