Preview

4th Amendment

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2115 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
4th Amendment
All Americans are entitled to their rights. The Fourth Amendment states that we the people have to deny search and seizures from law enforcement without a warrant. The fourth amendment generally prohibits police from entering a home without a warrant unless the circumstances fit an established exception to the warrant requirement. According to the book The Constitution: Our Written Legacy by Joseph A. Melusky, the Fourth Amendment gives the right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Although we are entitled to these rights, police sometimes use and abuse their authority. In many cases, the Fourth Amendment has helped prove the innocence of one’s actions.
Citizens of the United States may benefit from the Fourth Amendment because we are entitled to a list of rights. There are many exceptions that override our rights. The acronym SPACESHIP helps people remember the exceptions to the Fourth Amendment.
Search incident to arrest
Plain View
Automobile
Consent
Emergency or exigency
Stop and frisk
Hot and pursuit
Inventory
S(P)ecial circumstances

The first letter of the acronym is S which stands for search incident to lawful to arrest. This means once someone has been arrested they have to be searched. The police have the right to get involve if they suspect someone has something to do with illegal activity. In the court case California V. Acevedo (oyez.org) Charles Acevado was arrested for marijuana that was found when the officers stopped his car and searched his bag. The officers didn’t have a warrant to search his vehicle. The California court appeals ruled that the marijuana was not to be used as evidence in his defense. Officers were previously given permission by the Supreme Court to search an automobile if they have probable cause to believe there is evidence in the vehicle. The officers didn’t have a search warrant to search a closed container. The officers knew

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    4th Amendment protects your right against unreasonable search and seizure of property, papers, or people without valid probable cause…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fourth Amendment

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Fourth Amendment of the United States of America constitution reads as follows; 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. It was ratified into the Bill of Rights on December 15th, 1791 and is the section that protects us against illegal and/or unreasonable searches and seizures of our homes, person or property and was drawn from the “Every man’s house is his castle” maxim celebrated in England. It was established as protection against…

    • 1154 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Govt201 Unit 1 Amendment

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I chose this amendment because this protects the Americans from search and seizures without having a probable cause. It is illegal for Law enforcement to come and search your property without probable cause unless they have a warrant. This amendment is to protect the peoples personal property and personal belongings from police to search and seizure without a warrant.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    An influential government philosopher John Locke once stated, “Government has no other end , but the preservation of property.” The 4th amendment has an important part of protecting essential values. 4th amendment allows people to be secured in persons, houses, ext.Unless an issued search warrant ,probable cause or reasonable suspicion. For instance a precedent is Katz v Ohio this shows that the government can go too far with their search and seizure procedure.Today there are many cases in which the government is not using a search warrant when they are searching someone. Another reason is the writs of assistance case which established that the government does not take into consideration the 4th amendment for years the colonies got their ships searched and they were ran over by the government until the 4th amendment became a bill of right. How they established this case is they searched a ship for smuggled goods. I think that this is too far because they shouldn't be able to…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I enjoy reading your post. I would say that one of the reasons the 4th Amendment is so important is that it is reflective of the Colonists' own experiences. The Colonists were outraged on many levels that British soldiers could enter their homes, seize their belongings, or search their property without any probable cause or authentic paperwork. The fact that warrant-less and groundless searches became so prevalent is one reason why the 4th Amendment strictly states that justification and authentication must accompany all searches and investigation of property and belongings. Another I would say that the 4th Amendment is important is that it represents a fundamental right of a person accused of wrongdoing in a legal sense. The 4th Amendment…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Other conditions on the searches incident to arrest exception include the use of force, the search of other individuals with the arrested individual, searching the vehicle of an arrest person, contemporaneousness and inventory searches "if a government agent has probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime without a warrant" because "in the time it would take to get a warrant, the car, driver and contraband or evidence could be long gone" (Harr, Hess, 2006. p. 231). The 1981 case of Robbins v. California saw the justifications for searching without a warrant. Those specifications include that the mobility of vehicles produce exigent circumstances.…

    • 310 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The 4th amendment states that people have a right to have privacy. If a police officer or any law enforcement comes to your house without a warrant and seized something in your possession they broke a law. Something like this happened in 1984.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    4th Amendment Case Study

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Explain the two-fold requirement discussed in Katz v. United States, for analyzing when a search occurs under the 4th Amendment.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1980 a high school teacher at a high school in New Jersey caught two girls smoking in one of the bathrooms. At that time students were allowed to smoke in some areas of the school but smoking in the bathroom was restricted. The teacher then proceeded to take them to the office where they met with the Assistant Vice Principal Theodore Choplick. T.L.O was one of the girls, she was a 14 year old freshman. T.L.O said that she had not been smoking but the second girl admitted that she had been smoking. Choplick then took T.L.O into his office and told her to let him see her purse. He opened the purse and found a pack of cigarettes, a package of cigarette rolling papers, a small amount of marijuana, a pipe, and some empty plastic bags. He also found a list of people who owed T.L.O money. Also contained within the letters was information that showed that T.L.O was selling marijuana. Choplick then called T.L.O’s mother as well as the police. When they arrived at the school Choplick gave the police…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Fourth Amendment protects three distinct rights. They are liberty, property and privacy. Taking into consideration along with research and survey, I believe that each of these rights are equally important. Together they provide for a complete and well-rounded way of life. Without liberty, our lives would be limited to what the establishment would allow and therefore, what privacy could we have without the right of choice. Property would have no value without the liberty to use it as I desire.…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The government official does not have the right to go on the man’s property without a warrant. In 4th Amendment, it specifically says “ 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” it means that a government official can not go on your property, car or phone without probable cause.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of The United States of America was added as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. The Fourth Amendment deals with protecting people from searching their homes, and private property without properly executed search warrants. “Provides 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” (The History Behind the 4th Amendment). The Founders that put everything into place believed that freedom from government intrusion to a person’s home was a natural right for the people as well as a fundamental to liberty.…

    • 2068 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fourth amendment is the right for a citizen to be secure in their person, home and any of their property. It is established to protect citizens from unlawful search and seizures. Officers are required to have a warrant and only when they have probable cause.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 4th Amendment to the Constitution was given to us for our own protection, it is a right we have to secure us against something called “unreasonable search and seizures” by the government. It limits and gives certain procedures so that the government cannot abuse their powers. The 4th Amendment makes sure that government officials do their jobs as they should, abiding by certain procedures that are describe on how government officials such as police officer’s or sheriff’s, pretty much all law enforcement can go forth with the search and seizure process (Wrightman ,Nietzel, & Fortune, 1994, p. 59-60).…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most people, without even knowing it, are frequently protected, or using, the Bill of Rights in their everyday lives. The amendments that affect my life the most are the 1st, 4th, and 9th where as the 7th, 6th, and 5th are not as relevant. The first amendment protects my freedoms of expression; religion, assembly, petition, press, and speech. The most used freedom of expression in my life is freedom of speech, the right to express my opinion in a peaceful way. Being able to say what I believe about the government, ways of life, causes I support, and other beliefs I disagree with is all defended by the 1st amendment. The 4th amendment is also very relevant in my life. The 4th amendment allows me to be safe and secure in my houses, persons, papers,…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays