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why is the fourth amendment important
why fourth amendment is important essay
4th amendment analysis
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In wake of the new government America had to form, the framers of the constitution believed that important measures needed be taken to avoid tyranny, since that is what the long malicious Revolutionary War was fought for. To prevent the possibility of another cruel and oppressive government, the framers wrote the constitution ¬ to protect the people for tyranny in all and every level. The framers when writing the Bill of Rights amendments particularly focused on how the government will police the people. After facing centuries of control from Britain and heavy surveillance by the tyranny of King George, a change had to be made to avoid the repetition of history. The amenders critically looked at prime activities that violated the people, The Fourth and Fifth Amendment combine to form a unanimous statement that personal and private property are to be held with the upmost protection and sanctity. The framers of the constitution took lessons from why the Revolutionary war was fought and the unreasonable acts committed by the British. To the Americans of that generation, the protection of private papers was the equivalent of the protection of modern day emails and messages. Being under the rule of King George was a time where the Americans had their rights usurped by the government. That is what catalyzed the need for the Fourth Amendment. The framers explicitly wrote “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against Today, any evidence gathered by an illegal search, despite whether or not it gives direct proof of a crime, cannot be used as evidence in a trial. This is come to known as the Exclusionary Rule. Steven Bond was on a Texas bus heading towards his destination when the border patrol agent initiated a random search of passenger’s luggage in search of contraband. Steven Bond went through several judges and appeals and each one ignored the illegal search. That is until case went to the Supreme Court. In the case of Bond v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the agent’s search defied the Fourth Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. In a criminal investigation, a search is only considered legal with probable cause. The probable cause; however, cannot be considered valid without a search warrant. The framers of the Constitution knew that similar cases would eventually happen. Despite the foresight, the amendments require a warrant to prevent abuse from a powerful
The 4th Amendment is the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
The Fourth (IV) Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses paper, 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 Constitution, Fourth Amendment, Legal Information Institute). The fourth amendment is a delicate subject and there is a fine line between the fourth amendment and 'unreasonable search and seizure. '
The framers looked at documents from the English government, such as the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, to sculpt their government. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and stated that citizens had certain rights. This meant that the king had to recognise the citizen’s rights, and couldn’t imprisoned or arrest citizens unless convicted of a crime, and they had legal rights, and could have a trial by jury. The Magna Carta is significant because it was one of the most important democratic documents in history. It was important because it said that everybody was subject to the law, unlike a dictatorship, oligarchy, or monarchy. It set up a parliamentary democracy in England, and strongly influenced the American Bill of Rights. Likewise, the English Bill of Rights further restricted the powers of the king. The English Bill of Rights gave everybody certain rights; of these where were the right to trial by jury, no unusual, cruel, or unjust punishments, the right to own a gun, and citizens had to be charged with a crime before they could be sent to prison. The English Bill of Rights was influential to the American Constitution, because in the Constitution, the framers included a Bill of Rights outlining the rights of all citizens. The American Bill of Rights was heavily influenced by the English Bill of Rights. Of these were the right to bear arms, the right to a fair trial, and citizens couldn’t be put in jail without being charged with a
The 4th amendment provides citizens protections from unreasonable searches and seizures from law enforcement. Search and seizure cases are governed by the 4th amendment and case law. The United States Supreme Court has crafted exceptions to the 4th amendment where law enforcement would ordinarily need to get a warrant to conduct a search. One of the exceptions to the warrant requirement falls under vehicle stops. Law enforcement can search a vehicle incident to an individual’s arrest if the individual unsecured by the police and is in reaching distance of the passenger compartment. Disjunctive to the first exception a warrantless search can be conducted if there is reasonable belief
According to the Fourth Amendment, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Without the Fourth Amendment, people would have no rights over their own personal privacy. Police officers could just enter people’s houses and take anything that they could use as evidence and use it against them. With the advancement in today’s technology, it is getting more and more difficult to define what exactly privacy is to us, and whether or not the Fourth Amendment protects it.
When the law enforcement searched Wurie’s phone, they did not have a warrant to have the illegal evidence from his cell phone, moreover, it required the court to reconsider Wurie’s sentence. Furthermore, the case of the United States v. Olmstead, Olmstead was suspected as a bootlegger, therefore, got the federal agents to install wiretaps in the basement of his building, convicting him of being a bootlegger with the illegal evidence that got from the wiretaps. Most people argued that the federal agents violated Olmstead’s Fourth and Fifth Amendment, but the court agreed that it did not violate those amendments and that the Fourth Amendment did not require a warrant for wiretapping, if listening devices were outside of the home. Also, in the case of Mapp v. Ohio, law officials convicted Mapp of possessing obscene materials after an illegal police search of her home for a fugitive. However, during they're illegal search they didn’t find evidence of being a suspect to a crime, they still arrested for obscene materials they found during the search. Since the law officials search was illegal, the Supreme Court agreed that the evidence of the obscene materials be concealed in court by providing a limited
The Constitution of the United States of America protects people’s rights because it limits the power of government against its people. Those rights guaranteed in the Constitution are better known as the Bill of Rights. Within these rights, the Fourth Amendment protects “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizures […]” (Knetzger & Muraski, 2008). According to the Fourth Amendment, a search warrant must be issued before a search and seizure takes place. However, consent for lawful search is one of the most common exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
“ The government is morally obligated to serve people and protect their rights such as life, liberty, and property. “ The Constitution had no effect against the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution was created to make a stronger central government to protect the rights of its people. The social contract protects the natural rights, while the Constitution protects every other rights, like adding an extra layer of protection. The writers intention of the Bill of Rights was to ensure the safety of citizens rights without them being violated. Most amendments apply in daily life, but it might not show. The First amendment, freedom of speech, amendment two, the right to bear arms, and amendment four, protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. These three amendments are a major factor in daily lives for citizens.
The amendment that raises my own eye is the Search and Seizures Clause of the Fourth Amendment. Like most of the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment has its origins in 17th and 18th century, English common law. Unlike the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment's origins can be traced precisely it arose out of a strong public reaction to three cases from the 1760s, two decided in England and one in the colonies. Two cases from England, “Entick vs. Carrington” and “Wilkes vs. Wood”, involved plaintiffs who produced pamphlets criticizing the government. During the arresting, officials seized books and papers from the plaintiff’s property. A court agreed that the officers’ actions constituted trespassing. The third case occurred within the colonies and involved “writs of assistance,” which permitted officials to search for smuggled goods without specify which house or what goods.
The Fourth Amendment provides protection against unlawful warrants, searches and/or seizures with insufficient evidence, and what will constitute the terms of a warrant. The Fourth Amendment is based on three main principles. The first principle is that the authorities must have sufficient evidence as to why they believe the desired piece of evidence would be located in the area. For example, if the authorities were in search of a murder weapon they must have sufficient forensic evidence that would provide enough support that the weapon would be located at the specific spot. The second principle is that when searching an individual’s private home the reason should be focused on evidence to support the search. For instance, if the cops were to search the home of an individual accused of a crime any types of writings or plans that may be present in the home may be confiscated if they are deemed necessary in support of the search. The final principle is that a blanket warrant must not be used as a method of bypassing the first two principles. For example, if the authorities could not solve what kind of weapon was used or where the evidence would be located they cannot have a warrant that covers any possible scenarios in a broad range. The original notion of the Fourth Amendment was to enforce the belief that “each man’s home is his castle”
The Fourth Amendment came almost directly from experience of the colonials. But it wasn’t introduced only as a fundamental right, but also as a major part of the English ideals as well. In England, ''Everyman's house is his castle'' was an honored phrase, enforcing the idea that it is not only is it a law, but a right that cannot be delegated by any government idea. There are two major cases where this idea was tried. Semayne’s Case and Entick v. Carrington.
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for self-government, the Constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed. For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration, or bill, of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but did not say what it could not do. For another, it did not apply to everyone. The "consent of the governed" meant propertied white men only. The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government.
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees an individual’s protection against unlawful searches and seizures by law enforcement by providing that a search warrant with specific detailing information, based on “good faith” and probable cause, must be provided prior to investigation. By doing so, an individual may be secure that “his home is his castle” and his “person, papers, and effects” (The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 4) is protected as well.
are expected to tell the truth, even if that truth was to put you in
The Fourth Amendment can hamper expediting searches and seizures from occurring in a timely fashion. For example, according to G. W. Schulz, certain things are needed to legally conduct a search or seizure. (1.2) While this may take more time, it protects citizen’s right to privacy, and also follows the Constitution. It must also be acknowledged that, according to Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, there must be a "court order" for Apple to give the government "customer data.” (2.1) Even though this may make it a longer process for the government to access important data about individual people, it not only protects citizen’s privacy, but also makes sure that no searches or seizures are conducted using that data without the proper requirements.