Abstract Enclosed in the Constitution of the United States is a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights lists rights that each citizen has. The Fourth Amendment details one of those rights that US citizens have against unlawful search and seizure. The world is vastly different than the time that the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States. Search and seizure grew to other areas as the United States advanced. Acquiring digital evidence is a function of computer forensics and computer forensic experts have to follow law in obtaining digital evidence in order for the evidence to be admissible in court. This paper details the history of the Fourth amendment, its application in the acquiring of digital evidence, and the exceptions provided. This paper also explains how privacy plays a critical role in the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. History of the Fourth Amendment Privacy is something everyone covets. As an American, privacy is a right protected by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States of America. The Fourth Amendment states, “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.” (Congress.gov, 2014) The architects of the Constitution wanted to ensure
The Fourth Amendment is the first line protection against the government and their officials from violating our privacy. The Fourth Amendment provides safeguards to individuals during searches and detentions, and prevents unlawfully seized items from being used as evidence in criminal cases. The degree of protection available in a particular case depends on the nature of the detention or arrest, the characteristics of the place searched, and the circumstances under which the search takes place. This Amendment protects us in the following situations such as being questioned while walking down the street, being pulled over while driving, entering individual’s homes for arrest and searching of evidence while there. In most scenarios, police officer may not search or seize an individual or his or her property unless the officer has a valid search warrant, a valid arrest warrant, or a belief rising to the
The Fourth Amendment is about search and seizure. This amendment is mostly about having one’s own privacy. The amendment has been implemented to protect against unlawful searches and seizure by the federal law enforcement and also by the state. The Fourth Amendment protects the U.S citizen’s right of privacy from invasion. Today, the topic of privacy is frequently and heatedly discussed. As a person who wants to be aware of my rights, I and also the U.S. citizens need to know this amendment better, to know the histories of the amendment, the evolvements of its interpretation and how it plays the role in Supreme Court.
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
The fourth amendment gives people the right to not get illegally search. In other words someone can’t just run up to you and search you they have to have a good reason too search you.. The fourth amendment however is not guaranteed against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “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”. It consists of two clauses, the reasonableness clause which focuses on the reasonableness of a search and seizure and the warrant clause which limits the scope of a search. There are many views on how the Fourth Amendment should be interpreted, especially by today’s standards. The world has evolved significantly since the implementation of the Bill of Rights. As it evolved, time brought about numerous cases on the applicability of the Fourth Amendment. When plaintiffs are not satisfied with the decision of lower courts, they can
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution was first introduced in 1789 by James Maddison, and was a part of the Bill of Rights which includes the first ten amendments. The Fourth Amendment was created and ultimately it was created to protect two things the right to privacy and the freedom against unlawful invasions. The exact wording of 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 person or things to be seized.”(“Fourth Amendment”). Now after reading
The Fourth Amendment states; ” the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable search and seizures shall not be violated and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause.
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.
The fourth amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights, and was introduced to Congress by James Madison in 1789. The role of the Fourth Amendment is to prohibit unreasonable search and seizure and a warrant is to be required that is supported by probable cause. Even though the Amendment was introduced in 1789, it wasn’t adopted as an official amendment until 1792, because in December of 1791 three quarters of the states had ratified the amendment. The fourth amendment had a case law that dealt specifically with three different questions: “what government activities constitute “search” and “seizure”; what constitutes probable cause for the actions that was taken; and how violations of the Fourth Amendment rights should be addressed”. (Brady)
The Fourth Amendment has limits on the government’s rights to search our houses and businesses and to seize documents and other personal effects. It requires that the government should have reasonable cause for the search and seizure. That is, there must be a proof to support the specific search. The main drawback of the Fourth Amendment is first, personal information is not safe in our homes or in our offices. Most of the laws allow police to get access from nongovernment databases without any
The Fourth Amendment is the right to to resist unjust searches. A benefit of this Amendment is that individuals homes may not be investigated without probable reason, possessions may not be impounded without probable reason, and in turn, privacy is kept if there is not probable reasoning for search and seizure. If the Fourth Amendment were not in place, law enforcement would not only have the right to search individuals and their property, but would also be able to confiscate their personal belongings as well. If it were legal to do so, evidence against the alleged criminal would not be assembled in an authorized or organized way.
The Fourth Amendment is one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights that protect the criminally accused. The Fourth Amendment states that a person cannot undergo unwarranted search and seizures. This means that a person's house, their items, and their own self, cannot be searched by the police unless there is a clear reason to do so granted by a warrant. This protects the citizen's privacy, however, it could allow criminals to destroy evidence before a warrant is produced.
The fourth amendment gives the people the protection from unreasonable search and seizure. This amendment pretty much gives people the right to privacy.
The Fourth Amendment protects a person’s property from the government. Although citizens have a right to privacy, the government can violate those rights to some extent as they see fit. Searches and seizures by law enforcement officers can be made with or without a warrant. Due to the Fourth Amendment, in most cases, law enforcement officers must have a signed warrant by a judge. In some conditions, however, they are able to stop and
In the 1700s when the United States had detached itself from British rule it was then seen as a plutocracy. The U.S established as a democracy; a government of the people and by the people. However, this establishment was in favor of the rich, educated, and powerful and anyone who was categorized or known as elites and it has remained in favor of these people ever since. Yes we can say we have witnessed variations and seen a semi-democratic rise in the past two centuries, but we have remained a plutocracy hidden behind the word that people use to cover its true identity, democracy. Those like the framers, the public opinion role, interest groups, and money all portray our hidden plutocracy.