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US Constitution study guide: Difference between revisions
→Amendment 4 [unreasonable searches, warrants & probable cause]
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===Amendment 4 [unreasonable searches, warrants & probable cause]=== | ===Amendment 4 [unreasonable searches, warrants & probable cause]=== | ||
'''{{#tip-text:[Amendment 4 overview]|Fourth Amendment: | '''{{#tip-text:[Amendment 4 overview]|Fourth Amendment: | ||
* = protections against government abuse by "searching" and "seizing" people and their private materials | |||
** tyrannical governments frequently use false accusations or just arbitrarily (randomly) ("show me your papers!") in order to enforce their will | |||
* the 4th Amendment creates a "procedure" or process (i.e. = procedural law) for searches and seizures, including | |||
** "probable cause" = likely that a law has been broken, thus the search or seizure is justified | |||
** upon "Oath or affirmation" = recorded testimony or witness | |||
** "describing" the "place" to be searched and the "person" or "things" to be seized, | |||
** i.e., the search and seizure must be consistent with the probable cause and cannot go beyond it | |||
* in Katz v. United States (1967), the Court established a test of "reasonable expectation of privacy" | |||
Issues, problems & limits: | |||
* the term "reasonable" is vague and subject to interpretation | |||
* probably cause is also vague and subject to interpretation, such as: | |||
** is that a person runs away from a crime scene constitute probable cause of criminality? | |||
** what constitutes probable cause to search a car? (speeding, a headlight out, expired tag?) | |||
** can searches under legitimate probable cause that discover other evidence of crimes be allowed as evidence, since they were not listed in the original warrant (statement of items)? | |||
**can a search of a home based upon probable cause of one suspect include the belongings of other residents of that home? | |||
* under what circumstances do 4th amendment protections not apply? (such as at international borders, secure locations, sobriety checkpoints and other matters of public safety? | |||
* what other "rights" does the 4th Amendment create? such as abortion, sexuality}}''' | |||
The right of the people '''{{#tip-text:to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects|"to be secure..." | |||
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. | * by "persons" that means physical arrest or detention | ||
* "papers" = a specific protection of the privacy of one's private correspondence | |||
* effects" = belongings}}''', against '''{{#tip-text:unreasonable searches and seizures|unreasonable searches and seizures | |||
* unreasonable = vague but arguable | |||
** i.e., it's a measurement of the extent to which a search or seizure is valid and not abusive | |||
* "search" = of "persons, houses, papers, and effects", i.e. just about anything related to a person, including a person's clothes and body | |||
* "seizure" = confiscation, generally of anything that serves as evidence of criminality}}''', shall not be violated, and no '''{{#tip-text:Warrants|Warrants shall issue | |||
* = a legal order, usually issued by a judge or magistrate (court or public official) | |||
* the warrant is a strong protection because it requires that the government official state its purpose in a search or seizure | |||
** i.e., "shall issue"}}''', but upon '''{{#tip-text:probable cause|"probable cause" | |||
* "probable" = "reasonable" or "expected" | |||
* "cause"= reason to do something | |||
* therefore "probable cause" = "reasonable reason"}}''', supported by '''{{#tip-text:Oath or affirmation|Oath or affirmation | |||
* again, here the Founders consider an "oath" to be a serious statement of truth | |||
* thereby an "oath" that is a lie is illegal | |||
** just as a lie in court is perjury, so is a lie to support a warrant}}''', and particularly '''{{#tip-text:describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized| | |||
* the warrant must be specific in its purpose to be legal | |||
* "seizure" of a person = arrest or detention}}'''. | |||
===Amendment 5=== | ===Amendment 5=== | ||