The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that no search or seizure shall be carried out unless a warrant has been issued. The exceptions are: searches with consent, frisks, plain feel/plain view, incident to arrest, automobile exceptions, exigent circumstances and open fields, abandoned property and public place exceptions (Harr, Hess, 2006, p. 219).…
The following paper discusses the use of warrants, arrests, and the searching of private residences, when the law enforcement officers involved have concluded that there is probable cause. Although, probable cause is a necessary requirement in the obtaining of a warrant and in the following through of arrest procedures, ironically, according to the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School, “Neither the Fourth Amendment nor the federal statutory provisions relevant to the area define “probable cause;” the definition is entirely a judicial construct” (Cornell, 2006).…
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. U.S. Const. amend. IV…
The Fourth Amendment has been interpreted to: require that searches and seizures be reasonable; and prohibit warrants except those issued upon probable cause. However, as with any rule, there are exceptions. The exceptions to the warrant requirement will be discussed below.…
Instead of a focus on protecting property, there is more of a focus on protecting privacy. Probable cause to conduct a warrantless search is held to a higher standard of probable cause than it is for receiving a warrant to conduct a search. Probable cause is established through the collective knowledge of the police as a whole, as well as through individual officer knowledge and…
The Fourth Amendment states 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 (Peak, 2006)."…
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…
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “[t]he right of 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” (U.S. Const. amend. IV). When the Fourth Amendment rights of citizens are violated, the criminal justice system enforces the exclusionary rule, which seeks to discourage law enforcement officers from using improper or illegal investigative procedures. In Mapp v. Ohio, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the exclusionary rule was…
A search warrant must always be based on probable cause. We can define probable cause by facts or circumstances that would lead a person to believe that the place needs to be searched for important pieces of evidence to be found (Swanson 35). The probable cause is established by what is called a written affidavit prepared by the law enforcement officer or investigator. In the affidavit, the officer states all known facts and circumstances involving the suspects and items that are expected to be found. An affidavit contains 3 main parts that need to be described: the person, the property, and the facts. The search warrant must always describe in particular the place that is being searched. The description must be detailed enough to where the place being searched can easily be distinguished from any other place. It can be very easy to confuse one property with another; this is why it is extremely important for the description of the building to be very detailed and accurate.…
The framers of the constitution wanted to protect private property of citizens. They didn't want to re-live the private property violations that colonial Americans faced under the British. Homes and ships were unlawfully searched and private property was seized by British soldiers. Today law enforcement officers must have consent, search warrant, or probable cause. All search warrants start out out as probable cause. Law enforcement officers file a request with the court officer that issues warrants stating their reason for needing to search private property. If the officer agrees then the warrant is issued but it will list exactly what they are searching for. Consent means that the owner of the private property has allowed the officer to search…
It is said that it is necessary to infringe upon civil liberties during wartime. For example, Abraham Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus during the Civil War. Similar to that situation, there was a multitude of violations on civil liberties during the first world war. This is due to the fact that before being able to officially enter the first World War, it was necessary for the United States government to rally a lukewarm citizenry into a pro-war spirit. Once achieved, it was mandatory to maintain enthusiasm for the war until peace was reached. The United States government decided that in order to do so, it was necessary to violate the civil liberties of those who were perceived as public enemies: German-Americans, war opponents,…
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the people of unreasonable searches and seizures, it gives the right to secure their persons, houses and no warrant shall be issue unless they have a probable cause. Is in our bill of rights, and it can’t be taken away form us no matter what the circumstance is. When the police decided to install a GPS tracking devise on the car of Antoine Jones without a warrant they broke Jones right.…
The Fourth amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. The interpretation and execution of the Fourth amendment in the courtroom however, is decided by the Supreme Court in an attempt to find a fair balance between individual and community interests. The exclusionary rule for example, is a Supreme Court precedent that holds police departments responsible for seizing incriminating information according to constitutional specifications of due process, or the information will not be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial. The question that arises in turn, is whether the exclusionary rule has handcuffed the abilities to effectively protect the community by the police, or if it has actually resulted in a positive police reform which needs to be expanded upon.…
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.…
When studying the fourth amendment and what our forefathers were trying to preserve and protect, we realize that we have been given the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, and that is why we need to make sound educated decisions when trying to correct the negative problems in our world. Rights and freedoms do not need to be sacrificed. Having many wonderful rights and freedoms is one of the main reasons this country has become such an inventive and successful country, like the world has never seen before.…