A Living Amendment: The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution

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A Living Amendment
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is the most essential Amendment of all for employees working in the criminal justice field. This Amendment sets the foundation for the criminal justice system and implements mandatory guidelines for governmental employees. When the Constitution was originally created, its sole intent was to place limitations and restrictions on the federal government. The Constitution, as a living document has changed over the years and has continually been interpreted to keep up with America’s ever growing diversity and use of technology.
The Fourth Amendment Complete in Itself
The Fourth Amendment like most everything else in the Constitution has grown through case law. These cases set forth new ruling and implement new boundaries for professionals in the courts, criminal justice fields and any person operating under the authority of or in lieu of the United States government. "The Fourth Amendment requires that all search or arrest warrants be based on probable cause as stated by (Hess & Orthman," 2012 pp. 196). The Fourth Amendment works in the area of search and seizure of evidence but when an individual is seized for the purposes of an investigatory stop this too falls under the Fourth Amendments shadow ("Hess & Orthman," 2012).
Investigative Stops
Investigative stops, known as Terry Stops have been found to fall under the reach of the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, investigatory stops require reasonableness. What is reasonable has been considered as articulated facts that make an officer believe that someone has committed, is committing or is going to commit a crime. ("Florida Basic Recruit" 2010). When the government oversteps its boundaries there are numerous rules and doctrines in place to protect citizens from having their rights infringed upon; some differences in protection is offered to governmental employees who are acting within the scope of their duties. Examples of these are known as the Exclusionary Rule and the Good Faith Doctrine.
The Rule and Good Faith
The Exclusionary Rule forbids any evidence obtained illegally to be admissible in a court of law. The Supreme Court ruled in Burdeau v. McDowell that unconstitutional searches and seizures are to limit the federal government only. Before the days of Mapp v. Ohio evidence found at the state levels was usually not admissible in federal court and vice versa. Mapp v. Ohio allowed the states to adopt the Exclusionary Rule, making evidence interchangeable between state and federal levels. One could believe that with more areas being covered in this ruling now comes more possibility for liability.

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