Will We Follow Lincoln's Advice? The Fourth Amendment Essay

“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

This case mainly deals with the interpretation of our Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects us from unlawful search and seizures. What we can learn from this case are: the differences in court systems, the elements that comprise the Fourth Amendment, and the controversies surrounding it. The text relevant to this case can be found within the first six chapters of our textbook, with an emphasis on Chapter 6 “Criminal Law and Business”.

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 provides, "[t]he 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."

The Fourth Amendment was the result of the abuse of power by the British crown and its officers. Writs of assistance in the form of general warrants were issued at will to search and seize whatever officers wanted without legal grounds. These flagrant disregards of the colonist’s privacy along with other abuses were the impetuses that lead to the American Revolution. After winning independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights emerged. Later the ratification of the Fourth Amendment made general warrants and the likes illegal.

One of the many freedoms we enjoy, as Americans is the right that protects us from unreasonable search and seizures; as well as the necessity for a search warrant when law enforcement wishes to search someone’s property. This right is known as the Fourth Amendment and it contains two clauses: the first one is the reasonableness clause, which states that we are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. The second part is the warrant clause, which states that a warrant must be issued upon the finding of probable cause. It must then be supported by an affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and what us intending to be found.

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

One of the most famous cases that influenced the Fourth Amendment was that of Entick v. Carrington. This was only one of many civil cases against officials who raided people’s homes and other places in search of materials connected with John Wilkes' political pamphlets that attack both the government and the King. Mr. Entick, who was an associate of John Wilkes, sued because agents had entered his house forcefully and broken into desks and boxes that were locked. They then seized pamphlets, charts, and other printed materials. The courts decided the warrant gave the officials the right to search and seizure and the ability to issue a warrant for all a person's papers rather than only those accused of being criminal ''contrary to the genius of the law of England.'' The warrant was said to be invalid because it had no probable cause and no record was made of what had been seized. The Supreme Court has said this case is a guide to understanding what the Framers meant when writing the Fourth Amendment.

Later, in colonial America, a similar form of general warrants called the writ of assistance used by British officials on American colonists gave officials the right “to search colonial homes and businesses at will, without any restrictions” so to prevent smuggling goods (Monk 110). But this power granted to the officials was often abused fueling anti-British sentiment as the revolutionary cause approached. The Fourth Amendment was created to be a part of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution and unanimously agreed upon by the founders of the Constitution because general warrants was one of the many things which colonists saw as unjust, and infringing upon man’s inalienable rights/liberties to secure life, land, and the pursuit of happiness. The Fourth Amendment was taken from and expanded upon George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights (article 10) which stated “that general warrants, whereby any officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted” (United States Congress. Center for Civic Education 221). Its later incorporation into the Constitution meant that federal authorities could not make any searches or arrests of anyone on mere

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.

Search and seizure started in the Colonial Era when England was ruled by King George. He passed many bills to collect large amounts of revenue from the American colonies. The colonists began to smuggle goods to avoid the taxes from the King. After finding out that there were goods being smuggled King George created legal search warrants called “writs of assistance.” Britain’s authorities could enter one’s home or property without any reason for doing so. They could also interrogate anyone about certain goods and use force to make others cooperate. The American colonists did not like these search and seizures and was one of the factors contributing to the American Revolution.

The way the fourth amendment is being followed today is much different then in colonial times and this is due to the fact that it is now tailored to deal with crimes like drugs and terrorism.

“The rights 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,..”

According to Hall (2015), the term fruit of the poisonous tree refers to secondary evidence that was obtained as a result of an illegal search or violation of the Bill of Rights. This type of evidence may viewed by the court as tainted evidence and there for inadmissible in any hearing. The courts do consider all the facts when dealing with fruits of the poisonous tree and may allow the evidence depending on special circumstances.