Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment of the United States of America constitution reads as follows; 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. It was ratified into the Bill of Rights on December 15th, 1791 and is the section that protects us against illegal and/or unreasonable searches and seizures of our homes, person or property and was drawn from the “Every man’s house is his castle” maxim celebrated in England. It was established as protection against
However, these circumstances must require immediate action. Police officers can enter a home without a warrant to render emergency assistance to an occupant that is injured, to protect them from imminent injury, and if they have a reasonable belief that the person within the house is in need of immediate aid. If the delay in waiting for a search warrant would endanger the police officers lives or the lives of others. Another example of a warrantless search would be when there is sufficient justification that evidence is going to be destroyed. If the police officer is pursuing a suspect from a just-committed crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of death and/or serious bodily injury and the suspect a private residence, the police officer may enter without a warrant. They may also enter if it is to capture a person who retreats inside when lawfully attempted to detain or arrest the suspect while they are in a public place. If the police officer reasonably believes that a burglar, vandal, arsonist, or other criminal is within private premises committing or attempting to commit a property crime that may result in substantial loss or damage, they do not need to wait for a warrant to enter and prevent or minimize the loss (Rutledge,
Arizona (1978), the police collected evidence for four days after the suspect’s apprehension and the death of a police officer at the time of the arrest. He was convicted for murder, assault and narcotics offences. However, because they collected the evidence without a warrant, the suspect’s conviction on the murder of the police officer and assault charges was reversed by the Arizona Supreme Court, but upheld the narcotics conviction. This is a prime example of where the Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches. Even though the evidence was overwhelming proof that the suspect murdered the police officer, it was the responsibility of the police to do their due diligence to conduct the search legally. Had they obtained the proper warrants, the conviction would have still been upheld and the suspect would have been punished for the crime he