The word ‘liberty’ there seems to have been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include a meaning far beyond what was intended. The amendment was meant to ensure that blacks and whites were treated equally under the law, particularly in the Southern states after the Civil War. It certainly did not mean that the Supreme Court was to be the sole judge of all that constitutes 'human liberty'. That matter was explicitly left to the states with the proviso they treated all people equally. So what the court has done in effect is to expand its authority over the states without so much as even a whimper and to usurp the power of the legislative branch of the Federal Government. It is not at all certain that the reach of the 14th Amendment extends to the 1st Amendment. It is certain, however, that the First Amendment to the Constitution does not require "a perfect separation of church and state, that there be no vestige of religion in the state or in public life or in government." It seems this overstepping of the jurisdiction of the court needs to be rectified and rectified soon.