Fourth Amendment Essay
Fourth Amendment
Ashley J. Peterson
Constitutional Law
Steve Areges
Kaplan University
1/13/2010
Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment is important not only to the citizens but for our law enforcement as well. The Fourth Amendment is still evolving today, as common and statutory laws change so does our Fourth Amendment. This amendment has come a long way and will continue to serve us in our best interests for as long as we live, whether we agree of disagree.
“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.” (Findlaw.com, 2010).
Due to the Fourth Amendment we have come to think that we will never feel violated and that we are secure enough in our society that we are protected by the Constitution. The only problem with those thoughts is that people are violated everyday because of probable cause. Unfortunately, if someone thinks that you’re up to something, they can search and seize whatever they want if it comes out that you’re a criminal, and what you are doing isn’t justified by the laws.
Police practices with search and seizures are almost still the same as they were twenty years ago, except now things have made it a little harder for them. All procedures must be followed in order to prosecute someone in the court of law. If for at any reason they do not follow procedures and rules set forth by the constitution the case will more than likely be appealed or dismissed. There is a great deal of regulation on search and seizure laws now.
“Probable cause is usually what gets people caught up in the Fourth Amendment. Probable cause in based on two cases, observational and informational,” if a police officer sees a suspect being suspicious and maybe not doing what they
Ashley J. Peterson
Constitutional Law
Steve Areges
Kaplan University
1/13/2010
Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment is important not only to the citizens but for our law enforcement as well. The Fourth Amendment is still evolving today, as common and statutory laws change so does our Fourth Amendment. This amendment has come a long way and will continue to serve us in our best interests for as long as we live, whether we agree of disagree.
“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.” (Findlaw.com, 2010).
Due to the Fourth Amendment we have come to think that we will never feel violated and that we are secure enough in our society that we are protected by the Constitution. The only problem with those thoughts is that people are violated everyday because of probable cause. Unfortunately, if someone thinks that you’re up to something, they can search and seize whatever they want if it comes out that you’re a criminal, and what you are doing isn’t justified by the laws.
Police practices with search and seizures are almost still the same as they were twenty years ago, except now things have made it a little harder for them. All procedures must be followed in order to prosecute someone in the court of law. If for at any reason they do not follow procedures and rules set forth by the constitution the case will more than likely be appealed or dismissed. There is a great deal of regulation on search and seizure laws now.
“Probable cause is usually what gets people caught up in the Fourth Amendment. Probable cause in based on two cases, observational and informational,” if a police officer sees a suspect being suspicious and maybe not doing what they
References: Dictionary.com. (2010). Dictionary.com, LLC. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/circumstantial+evidence Findlaw.com. (2010). a Thomson Reuters Business. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment04/ Matthew, H. (n.d). CJC to probe police case leading to wrongful jailing. Courier Mail, The (Brisbane), Retrieved from Newspaper Source database.