The 4th Amendment to the Constitution is about freedom from random arrests that do not make sense. Nobody can go into your home without a search warrant. The text 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 be seized.” The right to privacy without government intrusion is what this amendment is about. A person’s home is their castle. Some circumstances, however, if there is criminal activity, demand that the search is conducted.
A warrantless search, however, is not always illegal. Searches can be done when a government employee violates somebody’s privacy for example, and strip searches are not against the law along with body cavity and anal or genital inspections. The 4th Amendment prevents dog-sniffing searches along with electronic surveillance. The 4th Amendment requires there be a cause to arrest somebody although an arrest warrant is not necessarily a direct and obvious requirement to search somebody. Traffic stops have to be temporary for limited purposes.
Warrants are not always demanded if the situation involves probable cause. The 4th Amendment is designed to prevent warrantless searches but it applies to the search and seizure of electronic devices. The Patriot Act is seen as a consequence of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The 4th Amendment was originally designed as a response to the British government’s habit of warrantless search and seizure during colonial times. It was ratified on December 15, 1791 by three-fourths of the states. The British wanted to tax people without representation as well.
The Revolutionary War had been a direct result of the British wanting to invade on the rights of the average colonial citizen. In modern times, however, the Supreme Court held that Chandler Vs. Miller (1997), a search can be conducted only if there is suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of the person being searched. The 4th amendment does not apply to wiretaps. The 4th Amendment provides U.S. citizens with protection from intrusive government behavior. An individual cannot be detained by force. Courts grant permission to detain somebody given that the court issues a warrant, also called a writ. Probable cause is about whether or not the arrested individual has committed a crime or not committed a crime.
The police are allowed to frisk people for weapons though when obtaining a warrant is not the most practical scenario to be in. Individuals in cars have less privacy than an individual in a house. Exceptions to unlawful searching can include the ability to search a public school without a warrant. In the Weeks vs. the United States case from 1914, states that illegally obtained evidence could not be admitted in court. Since 2008, there has been a major issue with government surveillance as to how it is legal or illegal under the 4th amendment right to protect oneself from unlawful search and seizures.
Police officers can search your car without a warrant and in recent years they have as well, collected bulk data on your telephone calls as well as Internet activities. If there is an illegal search, that data cannot be submitted in court, even if there is evidence of guilt. The 4th Amendment used to entail the right to privacy. Edward Snowden revealed the discretions of the NSA. When you get off a plane, you have to have your bag searched by TSA. According to the Mother Jones article I just found, the Department of Justice can subpoena Facebook into giving them all their data. Much of life is now conducted online because of banking and travel, the Internet is essential to this process. If records about Facebook use can be collected without a warrant, that fact applies to all Internet activities that must be conducted with great care.
Works Cited
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-iv
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fourth_amendment
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/how-fourth-amendment-not-protect/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
About the Creator
Iria Vasquez-Paez
I have a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State. Can people please donate? I'm very low-income. I need to start an escape the Ferengi plan.
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Article 3
This archaic amendment was added to the Constitution during the American Revolutionary War when soldiers were quartered in a home without the owner’s consent. James Madison originally introduced this amendment in 1789 as a part of the United States Bill of Rights, partly as an outgrowth of backlash from Anti-Federalist groups opposed to the Constitution’s draft. The amendment was proposed on September 28, 1789, and finally accepted by the legislature on December 15, 1791. This amendment was a response to British Parliament rules on quartering soldiers, which frustrated the early colonials to no end.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez5 years ago in The Swamp
Sukkot War
It was unexpectedly we were just going to a venue to hear a concert. And just in the beginning of it, we heard this loud sound. And everything was shaken, everything was sudden. Even the earth shaked like never before and exploded before us. People were running and scattering. People were screaming and running. People were no longer dancing and celebrating. And now the world was on Israel again, the world was focus on terrorism. And we were shakening as a nation, now realizing some of the victims of the terrorism as hostages were taken while others were killed suddenly. And families wanted answered and families wanted closure. Hostilities were rising and crises was evident. Our nation was in an uproar. And we wanted justice. We were refusing to back down because of all the bloodshed. The unnecessary bloodshed from an incident that should have never occurred. And as our nation moved more into the war, we saw justice. But we did not intend for the mass slaughter of more innocent lives. War is ugly. War is vicious. War is terrible. And many turning on us both friends and allies. Yet there were supporters some who knew what we were doing. We were trying to bring justice. We were trying to survive. We were trying to protect our future. And the darkness of war twisted our fate. It twisted our destiny. And as we further went into the war we were prevailing and becoming stronger each day. Why do these so-called warriors hide behind their people? Why do they hide in the hospitals? Why do they hide in the homes and tunnels? It becomes evident that they want to destroy no matter what. That they want to rid the world of us when they started this plot in the beginning. Did they not know that it would lead to this? Did they not know that it would accomplish more deaths? Yet they did not resist. They did not fight hatred but embrace hatred. And now we are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. And hope seems fading. Hope seems fleeing. But we have to come together. We have to fight this with the rest of the world. We have to come together against death and hatred. We must begin to work together with the rest of the world. Terror cannot be fought alone. And the war deepens, the war rages and the war embolden. The terrorists' supporters cast a night of bombs over us. Just when negotiations have come to light, they seek to annihilate our people. But we were not alone, thank God, our allies came for us. Our allies bursted the bombs in the air. Our allies from Great Britain, our allies from America, and yes our allies from Saudi Arabia. We now realized that this fight against terror, this fight against hatred and this fight against death is gonna be won by justice. Even in our villages, our towns, and our cities which were terrorized by terrorists. Our people are not afraid anymore. Our people are brave. Our people are strong. Our people are willing to fight for life. They see danger as no more threat. They are willing to fight to preserve the land. And they walk without fear and they are against hatred and terror. Because they have become numb after decades of threats, hundreds of years of hatred, and centuries of humiliation. They are free. They walk proudly and they are unafraid. For instance, one of our brave women, who was fighting to keep her family safe. Who had no other alternative but to face her accusers and her attackers outside her home. She bravely stood against their guns no longer resisting, and the attackers walked away. That's how brave our people are and that's how much a people of faith we are. We will not back down any longer.
By Matthew Primousabout 18 hours ago in The Swamp
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