By Jarrett DeHetre and Jordan Thrun

THE 4TH AMENDMENT

The

th 4

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, 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.'

Basic Facts
 The 4th Amendment prohibits illegal search

and seizure.
This means that a warrant is required to search someone's personal belongings. This warrant needs to be based on probable cause and issued by a judge. This only applies to the government and people working for the government, however.

Fixes
 The state constitutions require that most

citizens adhere to the amendment, not just those government workers.

Interesting

Loopholes

 Under the 4th amendment, a pat down by a police officer does not require a warrant if they have probable cause.  However drawing somebody's blood actually requires a search warrant, unless their blood will reveal evidence that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Basic Facts (Again)

 Ratified December 15, 1791, along with the

rest of the Bill of Rights  Both parties helped create the Bill of Rights but it was the Federalists responding to the Anti-Federalists cry that the Constitution had no Bill of Rights that actually started creation of the first 10 Amendments.

History
 At the time of this amendment being proposed

and ratified many important events were taking place.

The Revolutionary War had just concluded The Constitutional Convention was held and they were trying to ratify a whole new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, which had been proved inadequate by Shay s Rebellion

History (Cont.)
 The 4th Amendment actually finds its roots in an

English legal doctrine.

Sir Edward Coke in Semayne s Case (1604)
Acknowledged that the King did not have unbridled authority to intrude on his subjects dwellings but recognized that government agents were permitted to conduct searches and seizures under certain conditions when their purpose was lawful and they had a warrant

History (Yes, Still Cont.)

 Social issues
Some people believed that people may get too much power and limit what the government could do. Others feared warrants would be too hard to receive quickly and would impede the effectiveness of a law enforcing agency.

 Effects
Forced police to obtain a warrant to search and seize Forced courts to interpret what defines searching Forced state constitutions to apply their own laws being that the amendment doesn t apply to private citizens.

Public Support

Political Support
 Most politicians

supported the Bill of Rights, but some more than others. The AntiFederalists wanted a Bill of Rights so went with it when it was proposed.

Add 200 years

 Modern issues
Whether or not the 4th amendment applies to student searches or drug tests in public schools. To what degree is it considered privacy and when is it considered security?

Public Support Today

 The American public

still widely supports it as it is one of our fundamental rights

Especially predominant recently with the TSA issue