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    Fourth Amendment Rights

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    Fourth Amendment Rights

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    homework

    Original Title

    FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS

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    Fourth Amendment Rights

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    LGS 200*501 Study Guide

    Law and Individual Rights


    FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS
    SEARCHES AND SEIZURES
    The 4th Amendment says: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers, houses
    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 search and the persons or things to be seized.”

    What is protected?
    “Persons, papers, houses and effects.” Notice that public places and farmland are not covered.
    But your “person” is covered, even if you are out in public.

    What are “persons, papers, houses and effects” protected from?


    The 4th Amendment protect citizens from “unreasonable” searches and seizures.

    Searches are presumed reasonable where officers get a search warrant signed by a judge. If
    there is no warrant, the search is assumed to be unreasonable, and the officer must prove that
    the search was reasonable for another reason.

    There are several exceptions that make a search reasonable, even though there was no warrant
    signed by a judge. The most frequently encountered ones are:
    o Consent
    o Plain View
    o Pursuant to arrest
    o Protective Sweep
    o Automobiles
    o Abandoned property

    Search for what? Seize what?:


    o Evidence of a crime
    o Contraband
    o A person who committed a crime

    Seizing People: Arrests and Investigative Detentions


    When the police keep someone from leaving, they have “seized” the person.
     If they keep the person just a little while, on site, to clear something up, then
    they must have “reasonable suspicion” that a crime was committed.
     If they arrest the person, they must have “probable cause” that the person has
    committed a felony or have actually seen someone commit a misdemeanor.

    How does a police officer get a “warrant” from a judge to search some place?
     They fill out forms and draft a written statement saying whey they have probable cause
    to believe that there is evidence of a crime in a specific place right now.
    LGS 200*501 Study Guide
    Law and Individual Rights
     The statement must convince a judge that there is probable cause. Once the judge signs
    one of the forms, the officer and other officers can search.

    Exclusionary Rule:

    The 4th Amendment only applies to the government. If the government violates someone’s 4 th
    Amendment rights, they can’t use the evidence they got from the violation. This is called the
    “exclusionary rule.”

    If a private person violates someone’s rights by searching their property or seizing their
    property, they have committed torts and may be prosecuted for trespass or theft. BUT what
    they find can be used by the government as evidence.

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