Preview

IV Amendment

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1871 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
IV Amendment
IV Amendment

The Constitution, through the Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The Fourth Amendment, however, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law. Whether a particular type of search is considered reasonable in the eyes of the law, is determined by balancing two important interests. On one side of the scale is the intrusion on an individual's Fourth Amendment rights. On the other side of the scale are legitimate government interests, such as public safety.
The extent to which an individual is protected by the Fourth Amendment depends, in part, on the location of the search or seizure. Searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. In order for the warrant to be in compliance with the 4th Amendment, the warrant must be very specific about what is being looked for and where the officer can look for it .However, there are some exceptions. A warrantless search may be lawful:
If an officer is given consent to search, if the search is incident to a lawful arrest, if there is probable cause to search and exigent circumstances, if the items are in plain view. When an officer observes unusual conduct which leads him reasonably to conclude that criminal activity may be afoot, the officer may briefly stop the suspicious person and make reasonable inquiries aimed at confirming or dispelling the officer's suspicions. School officials need not obtain a warrant before searching a student who is under their authority; rather, a search of a student need only be reasonable under all the circumstances. Where there is probable cause to believe that a vehicle contains evidence of a criminal activity, an officer may lawfully search any area of the vehicle in which the evidence might be found. An officer may conduct a traffic stop if he has reasonable suspicion that a traffic violation has occurred or that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    case study

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Case Signifance: The 4th amendment prohibits the unlawful search and seizure of resident belonging to citizens of the United States of America.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sometimes an arrest has to be made in a protected place such as someone’s home. Under the Fourth Amendment, people have the right to be secure in their homes (Hall, 2014). Therefore they are protected places and a warrant would be required to legally enter and make an arrest unless the officer could justify an exception (Hall, 2014). The Fourth Amendment also specifically states that an arrest warrant must be based on probable cause and supported by oath or affirmation (Hall, 2014). It further stipulates that people to be seized must be specifically addressed in the warrant (Hall, 2014).…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Govt201 Unit 1 Amendment

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    4th Amendment - Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    - a school official may properly conduct a search of student’s person if the official has a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or reasonable cause to believe that the search is necessary to maintain school discipline or enforce school policies.”…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement personnel. (US Const. amend. IV) Though the Amendment “forbids unreasonable searches and seizures, it does not provide a mechanism for prevention or a remedy.” (Jackson, 1996) After passage of the Fourth Amendment, courts began to make laws regarding the rule against unreasonable searches and seizures. The courts designed a rule known as the Exclusionary Rule, which provided a remedy for the violation of a suspect’s Fourth Amendment privileges:…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    American Search Case

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It was adopted as a response to the abuse of search warrants in the American Revolution. The debate of the definition of search has been challenged in many cases in the history of the United States and is brought up again in this case. The Supreme Court ruled that a search occurs only when a person expects privacy in the thing search and society beliefves that expectation is reasonable. This was decided in Katz v. United States in 1967. In Katz the Court ruled that a search had occurred when the government wiretapped a telephone booth. Now seizure is the other part of the 4th amendment. A Seizure of propert occurs when there is meaningful interference by the government with an individual's possessory interests. The exclusionary rule also falls under seizure. The exclusionary rule states that voluntary answers to questions given to officers are offered into evidence in a ciminal prosecution. The government may not detain and individual even momentarily without reasonable, objective grounds, with few exceptions. The refusal to listen or answers does not answer these grounds. The invasion on people's privacy is only minimal and is usually only in speical cases. Some of these…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for the protection of citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Because of this, our legal system requires that a warrant be obtained prior to a search of people or their homes or property. Without this provision, citizens would be subject to invasions of privacy without probable cause. While the idea behind the protection from unreasonable searches and seizures was well-intentioned, in practice it did not immediately live up to its aims. “For more than 100 years after its ratification, the Fourth Amendment was of little value to criminal defendants because evidence seized by law enforcement in violation of the warrant or reasonableness requirements was still…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from police. The police could not senselessly harass a citizen. The police could only search through a citizen’s personal property with a warrant.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    School officals need only reasonable suspicion to search…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "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 other words, it protects citizens from searches and seizures by the government that are not supported by probable cause or by a warrant that details what the extent of the search will be. However, this definition is rather vague and ambiguous, as evidenced by the various interpretations of the amendment over time. Originally, these privacy…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “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” (Hudson, 2010, p.363). In this essay we will explore what is reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. A discussion of consensual encounters vs. detentions concerning search and seizure, we will also discus important cases that shape the fundamentals procedures of search and seizure.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    4th Amendment Essay

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 4th Amendment deals with protecting people from searching their homes and private property without properly executed search warrants. This amendment is important because without it, the government or authorities would be…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fourth Amendment addresses the right of the person to be secure in their person, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, and warrants as they relate to probable cause (2012). Specifically, the procedural rights of the fourth amendment require law enforcement to follow guidelines regarding the search and seizure of persons and property and address the steps for illegally obtained evidence.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Fourth amendment states : The right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Inadmissible At Trial

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects all of us against unreasonable searches and seizures. Therefore, the police or any other law enforcement agents just can't search your property and take your things simply because they don't like you or just because they feel like it. They must have a good reason before they can search your home or office and seize things, such as contraband or evidence of a crime. When the Fourth Amendment is violated, any evidence that can be traced to the illegal search or seizure is fruit of the poisonous tree and can't be used against you and should be inadmissible at trial.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays