Importance Of The Fourth Amendment
The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution was introduced to Congress in 1789 by James Madison and is an extremely important amendment contained in the Bill of Rights, furthermore, this amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures (Wikipedia, n.d.). “Moreover, the Fourth Amendment requires governmental searches to be conducted only upon the issuance of a search warrant, sanctioned by probable cause and supported by oath or affirmation,” (Wikipedia, n.d., p.1). The warrant requirement also mandates that the warrant must describe the place to be searched and the person and/or property to be seized. However, there are exemptions contained in the “Exclusionary Rule.” Some of the exemptions include consent searches, border searches,
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The Fourth Amendment was established to protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment was established to prevent the abuse of authority by the government, however, it does not prevent it. There are still many instances where authority is abused by law enforcement officers and this abuse should be stopped. Consequently, every citizen in the United States suffers from violations of Fourth Amendment Rights, however, most officers simply make mistakes due to the lack of training and knowledge. Most officers have a basic knowledge of the amendment, however, that is not enough to resolve our issues. Basically, the Fourth Amendment requires warrants for searches and seizures with a few reasonable exclusions such as, consent searches, plain view searches, exigent circumstance searches, and border searches. Furthermore, all other searches require a warrant. Consent searches are made when a suspect gives the officer consent to search his/her property, person, and/or belongings. Moreover, plain view searches are made when an officer sees an item that is considered contraband in plain sight. Exigent circumstance searches are conducted when there is probable cause to believe that the item of contraband could be easily moved or destroyed before a search warrant can be obtained. Furthermore, border searches are conducted routinely on the United States Borders, on the basis of National Security. Although, the explanation of these exclusions seem to be extremely simple to understand, they cause great confusion to law enforcement officers, and each one of them are equally important. The privacy and rights of U.S. citizens should be a top priority for the government, furthermore, the government should do its very best to ensure that reasonable searches and seizures are conducted in each
The Fourth Amendment was established to protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fourth Amendment was established to prevent the abuse of authority by the government, however, it does not prevent it. There are still many instances where authority is abused by law enforcement officers and this abuse should be stopped. Consequently, every citizen in the United States suffers from violations of Fourth Amendment Rights, however, most officers simply make mistakes due to the lack of training and knowledge. Most officers have a basic knowledge of the amendment, however, that is not enough to resolve our issues. Basically, the Fourth Amendment requires warrants for searches and seizures with a few reasonable exclusions such as, consent searches, plain view searches, exigent circumstance searches, and border searches. Furthermore, all other searches require a warrant. Consent searches are made when a suspect gives the officer consent to search his/her property, person, and/or belongings. Moreover, plain view searches are made when an officer sees an item that is considered contraband in plain sight. Exigent circumstance searches are conducted when there is probable cause to believe that the item of contraband could be easily moved or destroyed before a search warrant can be obtained. Furthermore, border searches are conducted routinely on the United States Borders, on the basis of National Security. Although, the explanation of these exclusions seem to be extremely simple to understand, they cause great confusion to law enforcement officers, and each one of them are equally important. The privacy and rights of U.S. citizens should be a top priority for the government, furthermore, the government should do its very best to ensure that reasonable searches and seizures are conducted in each