The Fourth Amendment provides defense against illegal search and seizures. Essentially, one can rest assured that the police will not simply enter his house without any cause or warrant, search until they find something incriminating, and then legally use that discovery to charge the person with a crime. Instead, there are many very specific rules and regulations about how something can be discovered and even damning evidence found incorrectly is thrown out (Katsh, 2013). This is an important constitutional right as it ensures that witch-hunts that aim specifically to find something illegal are never carried out and instead the law enforcement aim is to properly catch someone who is doing something wrong.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Consitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. The common misconception is that it simply covers what it states. In the age of development and new technology, it is likely that what we consider secrets or personal information is not as secret or personal as we once believed. Important pieces of evidence or information have often been found through illegal means, and this has led to many cases that change the way the constitution and the Fourth Amendment affect
The Fourth Amendment explicitly states and gives “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” (Smentkowski, 2017). This amendment was designed to protect all citizens, whether or not they fall into the criminally accused category, from unreasonable searches done by the government and police. We are granted personal privacy within a reasonable expectation in our own “persons, homes, papers, and effects” from the government, but this privacy must also be balanced against the government’s interest of public
In nature, there are certain requirements of a search warrant and some denies that right to search freely. The fourth amendment secures the right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures, if there are no probable cause or certain issue, then it cannot be touched. In addition, if evidence is found that an illegal search has happened,
Imagine being eavesdropped by the government, while talking a private conversation. This would make people feel unsafe. Katz, a person who experienced it, went to court because of this.The Supreme Court agrees to hear about 100-150 cases out of 7,000 per year. Cases are brought up to the court by the people filing a complaint or the people think their rights has been deprived by other citizens(USGOV). Some of these cases are a serious topic to topic about, and most are proved by the Amendments everyone has, as basic, fundamental rights. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, and a warrant is needed for searches(Oyez). Public places are locations where everyone can go, where everyone can do anything, as long as the people are not threat to the public(US Supreme Court).The FBI has the technology to spy, and navigate where people are, and uses it against threat” (FBI). Including the fact that all Amendments protect US citizens, it is imperative that Katz had been deprived of his rights by the US government.
The Fourth Amendment is “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” In other words, it is against the law for police to search any person without probable cause and an issued warrant. (Cartoon Surveillance) This protects the privacy of the innocent people that may not be considered guilty. However, giving the people a right to a warrant is only giving them an advantage, while the police and the government have a disadvantage. Issuing warrants take away time and privilege for police. Needing a warrant may unable police to some investigations as well. The Fourth Amendment was created for safety and privacy reasons, but has deterred the efficacy of law-enforcement; needing a search warrant makes gathering evidence harder, police investigations have been delayed, and the Exclusionary Rule causes some investigations to be inadmissible.
The 4th amendment stands out to me the most and it states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
This amendment is also very important because people like the police would have too much power over other people. For example a normal person could be patted down and searched just if they looked suspicious and this is a violation of their body and property which they deserve the right to have control of. The Fourth Amendment has dramatically changed our country by protecting people’s personal items and property. Although there are still some mixed opinions about the Fourth Amendment most people are for it and believe that it is a great way for them to feel safe in their homes and with their possessions. Many people that are for the Fourth Amendment believe that it is a great amendment that protects them from unnecessary searches or when police abuse the law and destroy property to find what they need. Although some people think that the Fourth Amendment can be used as an excuse to hide drugs or weapons from the police when they have alleged reasons that what you are doing so is illegal. Now that I have done lot’s of research on the Fourth Amendment I understand that it has had a much larger effect than just protecting U.S. citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The writs of assistance showed the colonists they needed a government that had valid reasons to search them or seize their property. Once the colonists had their own government, the ratified the Fourth Amendment to give themselves these protections. Without the Fourth Amendment today there would be much more concern about police biased and prejudice. Even with it, the current protests in Chicago show concern about people's Fourth Amendment rights. Many police officers in Chicago pullover and search people’s cars due to “suspicious” signs of drugs. Most of the people pulled over are black and this not only creates racial tension between
The Fourth Amendment was formally sanctioned in 1791 as a direct response to the Writs of Assistance. These were search warrants issued by courts to assist the British government in enforcing trade and navigation laws. The warrants authorized officers to search any house for smuggled goods without specifying either the house or the goods. The Fourth Amendment was proposed to stop this and states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In laymen terms, this amendment prevented officers to search people’s property without their consent, or the approval of a judge. In order to get such approval, the officer must have probable cause and swear they believe a crime is being committed. However, if the judiciary is not present, officers were able to conduct a warrantless search. This changed in 1914, when the Supreme Court established the exclusionary rule. This rule states that evidence obtained unconstitutionally is excluded in court and cannot be used as part of the case. The Fourth Amendment goes hand in hand with the Fourteenth Amendment which states that no state, “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized". The 4th amendment was made based on the Founding Fathers experience with the Kings agents and the all purpose rit of assistances that they used abusively. Without the 4th amendment, we would be at the will of the police because they could come into our household, search anything and take whatever they want.
Our founding fathers created the Bill Of Rights which are the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. One of the most important amendments is the Fourth Amendment. It states “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”(p. 11). What are our founding fathers were trying to do is keep our country from a police state, a state in which law enforcement could enter our homes without probable cause. This protection provides the citizens of the
In the case of Riley V. California, Mr. Riley was stopped on a traffic violation, which led to his arrest on weapons charges. The officer searching Riley’s incident to arrest seized a cell phone form Riley’s possession. There was information on the phone and repeated use of a term associated with a street gang. Hours later a gang detective examined the phone’s digital contents and based in part on photographs and videos found, the State charged Riley in connection with a shooting that occurred a few weeks earlier. They sought an enhanced sentence based on Riley’s gang membership. He was ultimately charged with connection to an earlier shooting, firing at an occupied vehicle, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and attempted murder. Riley
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized". The 4th amendment was made based on the Founding Fathers ' experience with the Kings agents and the all purpose writ of assistances that they used abusively. Without the 4th amendment, we would be at the mercy of the police because they could come into our household, search anything and take whatever they want.
“The Fourth Amendment says that you have an expectation of privacy in your home and person (body). The government cannot search you, your home, or belongings without a good reason.” (Background Essay). But, through the years the government has invaded the protection the Fourth Amendment has given to society. For example, “Federal agents put a bug- a device that allowed them to listen to the conversations” (Doc A). This quote from document A helps show that the government had invaded the privacy of someone’s conversation and the person nor public knew about this. The call the person made was recorded and violated the person’s privacy as they spoke to someone. The government has also disrupted people’s privacy by scanning homes. “Society regards as reasonable the expectations of privacy from such intrusive scanning of the home” (Doc D). They’ve used various materials to search a home which violates the privacy of people. But, this isn’t the only way the government has gone too far in search and
The whole point of the Fourth Amendment is not to completely stop the police, because the amendment can be waived if an officer has a warrant, or a person’s consent. The Fourth Amendment states that generally a search or seizure is illegal unless there is a warrant, or special circumstances. Technically stating that a citizen is protected by the Fourth Amendment, until a government employee gets a warrant, and then they can invade a citizen’s privacy. Also people state that the FISA Court’s warrants are constitutional, but the NSA’s surveillance is unconstitutional. Even though people do not like the NSA’s surveillance, the NSA is legal because the FISA Court that the people did not mind makes it legal. Next a search warrant is not needed