Overview of the 4th Amendment
Over the next several months, we will be discussing the concepts related to warrantless search and seizure. While we have a lot to talk about, the totality of the discussions will still only be a summary. In fact, one cannot possibly memorize all of the nuances related to search and seizure. While there are several bright-line exceptions, each of those exceptions is an outgrowth of the basic principles of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment simply prohibits police officers from conducting “unreasonable searches and seizures.” The Fourth Amendment does not say that every search requires a warrant – but if any search done without a warrant must be reasonable.
The United States was founded by the ratification of the Constitution. Immediately after the ratification, the Founders adopted the first ten amendments to the Constitution – the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was a list of ten foundational citizen rights which the government absolutely could not infringe upon. So, remember that the creation of the Fourth Amendment is simply the Founders’ effort to prohibit abusive government conduct related to the searching or seizing of citizens or their belongings. Always keep in mind that police officers have significant authority, backed up by the use of force.
Yet the Fourth Amendment was never meant to be some hyper-technical concept. So, don’t overthink Fourth Amendment law; understanding the reasoning behind the Fourth Amendment’s creation is crucial to understanding the Fourth Amendment itself.
Two 4th Amendment Examples
Increased Protection for a Residence: For instance, the Founders placed particular importance on the sanctity of a citizen’s home. As such, homes receive more Constitutional protection than vehicles or property used for commercial purposes.
State Law Does not Control: As another example, as the Fourth Amendment is a federal rule, the constitutionality of a search or seizure will not be dependent upon the law of the individual state. Both of the preceding examples are easier to understand if one examines the purpose of the Fourth Amendment rather than attempt to memorize the individual rules.
Legal Supplement
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.
Welsh v. Wisconsin, 486 U.S. 740, 748 (1984), “It is axiomatic that the physical entry of the home is the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed.”
Silverman v. United States, 365 U.S. 505, 511 (1961), “’At the very core” of the Fourth Amendment “stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion.’”
U.S. v Jefferson, 925 F. 2d 1242 (10th Cir. 1991), “ [W]e do not believe the Supreme Court intended that any time an accus ed takes a long distance road trip in a car, the car is to be treated like a home for Fourth Amendment purposes.
Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 90 (1998), “Property used for commercial purposes is treated differently for Fourth Amendment purposes than residential property.”
California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 43 (1988), “We have never intimated, however, that whether or not a search is reasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment depends on the law of the particular State in which the search occurs.”
