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 The Fourth Amendment:

1. What is 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, 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."

2. What is the Fourth Amendment? - To the United States Constitution it is part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

3. Some history behind the Fourth Amendment:

- The forth amendment was added to the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution on December 15, 1791.

- Prior to this amendment being added to the Bill of Rights, it actually dates back to 1604 in the famous Semayne's Case. Sir Edward Coke was the first person to come up with this right, he stated it as this: “The house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress, as well as for his defense against injury and violence as for his repose.”

- This case protected subjects that belonged to the kingdom against unlawful searches and seizures. It protected them against these searches and seizures even if they were appointed by the King's representatives.

- The most famous case dealing with search and seizures dates back to 1765, and it was named Entick vs. Carrington. In this case, royal representatives of the king, broke into John Entick's private home. Entick was a publisher and was accused of writing articles that were bashing the king and his policies. The representatives broke into locked desks, and confiscated his papers. Entick took the Lord Halifax to court following the break in. The court agreed that it was unlawful and there was not enough evidence to give the men probable cause to search. There were not documents or records kept on the items that were seized.

- The case of Entick vs. Carrington helped the Founding Fathers write the laws regarding search and seizures when writing the fourth amendment

- Prior to the fourth amendment being made, Parliament and King George II started using “Writs of Assistance” which was a very broad and general search warrant. Writs of Assistance was used by customs agents if they thought any property contained contraband.

- In response to these general searches, Massachusetts legislature passed a law in 1756 outlawing the use of general search warrants. This really upset King George II, it caused a lot of hostility between Massachusetts and the King.

- King George II passed away in 1760, six months after his death there were new laws set regarding Writs of Assistance.

- Later in 1776, Virginia Deceleration of Rights was written. This was the document used by Thomas Jefferson when writing the Deceleration of Independence. The Virginia Deceleration of Rights included the prohibition of general warrants but did not add a lot of detail about probable cause.

- On June 8, 1789 James Madison proposed the first twenty amendments. One of these laws became the fourth amendment. The first ten amendments became the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791.

4. Exceptions to the Fourth Amendment:

- The Plain View Doctrine- an officer can seize or search anything in plain view, as long as he or she has probable cause to believe the item(s) have been used in a crime.

- Motor Vehicle Exception- Vehicles do not have the same protective rights as a private home. An officer has to have a reason to pull over a vehicle, he or she may not pull over a vehicle randomly. Illegal items that are in plain view when the individual is pulled over can be searched and confiscated.

- Border Search Exception- Searches at US borders or international airports can be done randomly without reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed.

- School Exception- Anything/anyone can be searched on school ground without a warrant if there is probable cause of a crime being committed.

- Work Exception- Government employees in the work place can have their personal items searched without a warrant

5. Exclusionary Rule:

- This rule came about in the 1914 Weeks vs. U.S. Landmark Trial.

- Weeks vs. U.S.: Police entered the home of Fremont Weeks and seized papers which were used to convict him of transporting lottery tickets through the mail. This was done without a search warrant. Weeks took action against the police and petitioned for the return of his private possessions.

-In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the seizure of items from Weeks' residence directly violated his constitutional rights. The Court also held that the government's refusal to return Weeks' possessions violated the Fourth Amendment. To allow private documents to be seized and then held as evidence against citizens would have meant that the protection of the Fourth Amendment declaring the right to be secure against such searches and seizures would be of no value whatsoever. This was the first application of what eventually became known as the "exclusionary rule.

6. The Poisonous Tree Doctrine:

- The Poisonous Tree Doctrine is a companion of the Exclusionary Rule. It was established by the Supreme Court in Nardone v. United States in 1939. Under this doctrine, a court may exclude from trial any evidence derived from the results of an illegal search.

- For example, assume that an illegal search has garnered evidence of illegal explosives. This evidence is then used to obtain a warrant to search the suspect's home. The exclusionary rule excludes the evidence initially used to obtain the search warrant, and the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine excludes any evidence obtained in a search of the home.

7. Controversies regarding the Fourth Amendment:

- There are a lot of controversies regarding the fourth amendment, due to lack of education. A lot of people do not know exactly what their rights are. Also when individuals come face to face with authority they often forget what their rights entail. If US citizens were more educated on their rights (teenagers especially) the amount of controversy related to the fourth amendment would decrease tremendously.

- There are no solutions to this problem of citizens lacking education dealing with the fourth amendment. The most common time for people to learn their rights are when it is already too late, and the citizens has come in contact with authority.

- A possible solution that might be worth trying is perhaps requiring students in middle school to take a class that will inform them of their rights. It would be similar to their required music, art, and physical education classes. This would be extremely educational, and very beneficial to young adults.

8. Obtaining A Search Warrant:

- An approved document that authorizes law enforcement officials to search a particular place.

- To obtain a search warrant, a police officer must provide an account of information supporting probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place or places.

- The officer must also make a list of the particular places to be searched and the items sought.

- Finally, the officer must swear to the truthfulness of the information. The officer presents the information in an Affidavit to a judge, who determines whether to approve the warrant.

9. Terms To Know:

- Search Warrant: a judicially approved document that authorizes law enforcement officials to search a particular place

- Arrest: A seizure or forcible restraint; an exercise of the power to deprive a person of his or her liberty; the taking or keeping of a person in custody by legal authority, especially, in response to a criminal charge.

- Seizure: A hunt by law enforcement officials for property or communications believed to be evidence of crime, and the act of taking possession of this property.

10. References:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Definition_of_.22search.22

- http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am4.html

- http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/4th-amendment.html

- http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1913/1913_461

- http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Search+and+Seizure

- Policing: Purpose and Organization Legal Aspects of Search and Seizure Power Point