BIll+Of+Rights+howajo19

=The __IV__ 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 be seized."====

__ Description __
What this amendment means is any American citizen cannot have their personal property searched without a proper warrant.

__ Historical Applications __
The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution was added as part of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. The 4th Amendment only applied originally to the federal government, but through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court has now applied most parts of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments as well.

The most famous English case dealing with the right to freedom from illegal search and seizure is called //**Entick vs. Carrington**//, 1765. In this case, royal representatives had broken into the private home of John Entick in search of material that was critical of the king and his policies. In the process, they broke into locked boxes and desks and confiscated many papers, charts, pamphlets , etc. The officers were acting on the orders of Lord Halifax. During the trial, Entick charged that the entire search and seizure had been unlawfully conducted, and the Court agreed. The Court said that Lord Halifax had no standing to issue the order to search the premises, that probable cause that a crime had been committed had not been demonstrated and that the warrant allowed a general confiscation of anything the officers found, not specifying exactly what they were to look for or could seize. In addition, there were no records kept of what the officers seized. This ruling essentially declared that the government was not allowed to do anything that was not specified by law. It required the search and seizure be carried out according to the law. It also established that the right to be able to protect one's private property was an important right to be safeguarded by the government. In his ruling, Lord Camden, the Chief Justice made this famous statement: > //"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property. That right is preserved sacred and incommunicable in all instances, where it has not been taken away or abridged by some public law for the good of the whole. The cases where this right of property is set aside by private law, are various. Distresses, executions, forfeitures, taxes etc are all of this description; wherein every man by common consent gives up that right, for the sake of justice and the general good. By the laws of England, every invasion of private property, be it ever so minute, is a trespass. No man can set his foot upon my ground without my license, but he is liable to an action, though the damage be nothing; which is proved by every declaration in trespass, where the defendant is called upon to answer for bruising the grass and even treading upon the soil. If he admits the fact, he is bound to show by way of justification, that some positive law has empowered or excused him. The justification is submitted to the judges, who are to look into the books; and if such a justification can be maintained by the text of the statute law, or by the principles of common law. If no excuse can be found or produced, the silence of the books is an authority against the defendant, and the plaintiff must have judgment."//


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Today's Application:
Searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. // Payton v. New York //, 445 U.S. 573 (1980)

However, there are some exceptions. A warrantless search may be lawful: Organizations promoting the 4th amendment are: ACLU, ATR, and CDT all promote the 4th amendment.
 * If an officer is given consent to search; //Davis v. United States//, 328 U.S. 582 (1946)
 * If the search is incident to a lawful arrest; //United States v. Robinson//, 414 U.S. 218 (1973)
 * If there is probable cause to search and exigent circumstances; //Payton v. New York//, 445 U.S. 573 (1980)
 * If the items are in plain view; //Maryland v. Macon//, 472 U.S. 463 (1985).

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Videos And Websites To Check Out:
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