4th Amendment

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizures. (People v. Williams 20 Cal.4th 125.) A defendant may move to suppress as evidence any tangible or intangible thing obtained as a result of an unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant. (Penal Code §1538.5(a)(1)(A).) Warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. (Williams, supra, 20 Cal.4th 119; see also Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993) 508 U.S. 366 (stating searches and seizures conducted outside the judicial process are per se unreasonable unless subject to an established exception).) While the defendant has the initial burden of raising the warrantless search issue before the court, this burden is satisfied when the defendant asserts the absence of a warrant and makes a prima facie case in support. (Williams, supra, 20 Cal.4th 130.) Accordingly, when the prosecution seeks to introduce evidence seized during a warrantless search, they also bear the burden in showing that an exception to the warrant applies. (Mincey v. Arizona (1978) 98 S.Ct. 2408; see also People v. James (1977) 19 Cal.3d 99.) Evidence obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure is considered “fruit of the poisonous tree” and should be suppressed. (Wong Sun v. United States (1963) 371 U.S. 471; see also Minnesota v. Dickerson (1993) 508 U.S. 372 (stating unreasonable searches are invalid under Terry and should be suppressed).)

When the colonists established the bill of rights in the 18th century, the fourth amendment seemed unambiguous. The government needed to respect the right for people to be “secure in their persons, house, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures and not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” The difference between today and eighteenth century is that many more situations have come up that weren’t around during the eighteenth century. New technologies, new threats and new circumstances have risen that may diminish the restriction on the fourth amendment. In order to protect society from new threats and circumstances in America, the Supreme Court expands their understanding of the fourth amendment to apply it to the new world.

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution was ratified in 1791 and is an important amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment is “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” (Charles Wetterer). The issue of searching and seizing first originated in Britain in the mid-1700’s where British officers had general warrants to search citizens. While this became an issue for citizens in Britain, it became apparent also in the colonies where British soldiers were searching with only general warrants. Many citizens believed it was an invasion of privacy. So after independence from Britain, and the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution was produced. George Mason, an important political figure in Virginia, had written the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and he and other delegates believed the primary purpose of the government was to protect the rights of its citizens. To further that, he believed citizens had the right to be secure from unlawful searches and seizures. Once the idea of the Bill of Rights came into play, the Fourth Amendment was also created. The Fourth Amendment actually guarantees two things: You cannot search or seize unless you have a warrant and a

1. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S Constitution says, “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.”

Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures of certain papers, books, documents etc. Rules are not violated in it. There must be probable reason because in order to arrest a particular person without a search warrant. It possesses an oath or affirmation from the government. It has two fundamental rights as Right to privacy and Right to freedom. Search occurs when it has a correct reason that was obligated by the government people. Private individuals are violated from this amendment. A seizure happens the owner must has a right documents with him on his own property, if not the documents is seized and the person gets arrested. Sometimes the property belongs to other possessor but in mistake reasonable person gets involved in the task. The banning of unreasonable searches can violate many things to be happen.

The Fourth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights which was established in the seventeenth and eighteenth century English common law. Aside from the rest of the amendments in the Bill of Rights the Fourth Amendment can be traced back to a strong public reaction from some cases back in the 1760s. Two of these cases happened in England and one case happened in the colonies. These cases involved some pamphleteers who would pass out pamphlets to the public in order to spread their word around. These pamphlets however ridiculed the king and his ministers. After finding this out the king issued warrants to have the pamphleteer’s homes ransacked and stripped of all their books and papers. Even back then the pamphleteers knew that their rights

In the mist of America ending its wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan here in the homeland we are still be proactive in trying to alleviate terrorist threats and opportunities for terroristic activity in our backyards. When looking at the USA PATRIOT ACT that was enacted to help battle this ongoing pandemic it has come into question whether the laws of the USA PATRIOT ACT extremely broad, narrow, and overarching that they leave too much room for interpretation which in the end has led to violations of a person’s rights that they are guaranteed by the US Constitution.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution applies to a person and their home by providing protection against unreasonable seizures and searches. While it provides protection, not every search and seizure can be deemed unreasonable unless it is classified as per the law, by determining whether there was: a) the level of intrusion of the individuals Fourth Amendment, and b) whether or not it pertains to the government’s interest, such as safety of the public.

The Fourth Amendment was added on December 15, 1791, and ensured that it would protect citizens from arbitrary invasions, unlawful detainments, and a citizen’s right to privacy in the United States. Throughout modern America, the Fourth would should up in various landmark court cases around the country and establish itself as one of the most fundamental rights a person can possess. Citizens have the right to feel safe in their homes, as well as being safe around their own town, but what would happen if you were not at your residence and police wanted to search your home? This can be seen in the court case Weeks v. United States.

As humans evolve on earth, it has been inevitable to find solutions and create easier ways to manage and live life. Technology now promises the future and has revolutionized the everyday life of Americans. The rapid rate at which technology is evolving has left a gap in which the law has not been established in a clear manner. The Constitution is the law of the land and serves as a living document that grew up parallel to our nation. The law of the land itself has been adapted and molded as it prioritizes the rights and liberty of its citizens. Now a day women are allowed to vote and the legal age to vote is 18 as where in 1787 the constitution had established that only older men could vote. The science and technological progress happening

The US Patriot Act was a very controversial act that was created after the events of September 11, 2011. Although many sanctions under the US Patriot Act grossly violated the fourth amendment in several ways, congress felt it was necessary to protect the nation. Sections that violated the fourth amendment are: the sneak and peek warrants included in section 213, roving/warrantless wiretapping of section 206, and finally trap and trace searches of section 214. These are just a few of the many violations I can account for. The Fourth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights that was added to the Constitution in 1791. It protects people from unlawful searches and seizures. This means that the police can't search you or your house without a warrant or probable cause. Are we truly willing to override the Constitution in the name of national security?

With the establishment of the US Patriot Act, the government has been granted the ability to tap into phone lines without the knowledge of or notification to the owner of the line. I have personally been effected by this on a local level due to a high political case my ex-husband was involved in with his former employer. The local government tapped into all of our phone lines and recorded a lot of information from conversations and text messages that I personally had with my ex-husband and conversations he had with his former employer. We did not know that our phones were tapped until they presented the transcripts in court. Granted, none of the information provided was incriminating in any nature, but the fact that our constitutional right was invaded was just beyond mind blowing.

Lastly, Section 218 has been perceived as expansion of the Fourth Amendment for the scope of what the amendment allows is very narrow. First, the Fourth Amendment was already extended, when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was put into place. This Act allowed more to fall under the requirements for probable cause when it came to wiretapping, then once the Patriot Act was put into place it allowed wiretapping to go beyond gathering information for foreign intelligence. In layman terms, the government can conduct physical searches and wiretapping with simply stating that it is to gather information for foreign intelligence.

The Bill of Rights is a necessary piece of the Constitution, written to protect the people of the United States of America. The fourth amendment in particular is designed to protect one from unreasonable searches and seizures of ones property. A search or seizure is considered unreasonable without an issued search warrant. However, a peace officer may search without having a search warrant if there is probable cause. According to Cornell University Law School “The Fourth Amendment applies to the search and seizure of electronic devices.” The fourth amendment does have rules set for protection of telephonic and electronic activities requiring search warrants, but the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has altered this law.

house without permission or a warrant. The health lady completely violated the 4th Amendment when she went onto the man’s lawn without a warrant and against his wishes.