Amendment 4
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. (X)
What does this mean?
Well, let's take it into parts.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures
First, let's go on a slight tangent on why this Amendment was formed.
Prior to this Amendment, the British continuously searched homes freely - if there was resistance on the American civilian end, the British could essentially turn the home upside down [ as in make a mess of things ] such as breaking doors, packages; basically anything deemed valuable was likely to be taken and the home was searched thoroughly. (X)
This part of the Amendment ensures that American citizens will be able to feel safe in the comfort of their homes & not subject to random searches as what happened when America was Great Britain's colony.
In order for there to be ANY search done, there must be a reasonable cause such as if it is known by factual evidence that criminal activity is occurring [ which equates to ensuring public safety ]
shall not be violated
At the time this Amendment was formed this was directed towards the British who mistreated the American civilians to searches without a valid reason.
Overall, the privacy of an American citizen is held in high regard & cannot be infringed without a proper cause [ as mentioned above in the case of obtaining factual evidence of criminal activity or something of that sort.]
[A]nd no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation
In order for a search warrant to be granted to law enforcement, they must have factual evidence to support their reasonings; otherwise they are not allowed to conduct the search.
Stated by the Government & Constitution:
A judge would need to find probable cause by examining the full circumstances each case before issuing a Search Warrant.
To put it in simpler terms:
Probable cause = Search Warrant
No probable cause = No Search Warrant
_
An easier guide:
1. The warrant must be filed without there being prejudice from the law enforcement officer.
2. Factual evidence
3. The warrant can only be given by someone who is not involved with the case itself. (Basically someone with no strings attached to the case)
i.e. judge
4. The warrant must state the place to be searched & items to be seized.
Which means - law enforcement cannot say they are in need of one item on paper & instead take something else.
[A]nd particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
As mentioned as the very last requirement above: In order to search a place, there must be a reason and it must be stated the place to be searched & items to be taken. It is not possible for law enforcement to just walk up a place and essentially say OK. let's search this place and take some stuff because why not we have A search warrant just not THE search warrant for this house.
To summarize:
No Search Warrant for Private Civilian Homes = No permission to Search
*Abandoned property, however, can be searched without a Search Warrant.*
However, if the civilian DOES NOT CONSENT to evidence being obtained via a warrantless search then the 4th Amendment protects them & law enforcement would have to obtain a Search Warrant given from a Judge in order to conduct a search.
Paraphrased slightly from the Cornell University Law School:
The goal of this Amendment : to protect people's right to privacy & freedom from random governmental intrusions.
_____
In what ways has President Trump & his administration done something that pertains to this Amendment:
[The effect of President's Trump Executive Order preventing travelers from 7 Majority Muslim Countries From Entering the United States]
[The effect of President's Trump Executive Order preventing travelers from 7 Majority Muslim Countries From Entering the United States]
1.
An excerpt from the CNN article:
Citizens must surrender laptops and phones if a border agent asks for them, but not passwords or social media information, CAIR-Florida spokesman Wilfredo A. Ruiz said. Border agents might give the device back and let the person go. Or they might hold onto it and seek a warrant to break it open.
_
_
With the NASA scientist - US-born & parents not from 7 countries on President Trump's ban [ father from: South India & Mother from: Germany & Scotland] the scientist felt pressured to give the PIN to the phone. In this case it could be considered consensual, but also raises the question if it was not, necessarily speaking, consensual by choice but by pressure?
_____
_____
2.
Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
This lead to ICE Agents Showing Up Door to Door. As stated above in the explanation of the Amendment - In order for any search to be conducted there must be a warrant signed by a judge.
Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
This lead to ICE Agents Showing Up Door to Door. As stated above in the explanation of the Amendment - In order for any search to be conducted there must be a warrant signed by a judge.
[ If needed this was provided by ACLU: What To Do If Immigration Agents (ICE) Are At Your Door | American Civil Liberties Union]
3.
UPDATE 25 APRIL 2017
_____3.
This order was meant to cut Federal Funding to States that would not assist/cooperate with immigration authorities. In California, a judge blocked this Executive Order.
As mentioned by The United States District Court Northern District California - it violates this Amendment:
Several courts have held that it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment for local jurisdictions to hold suspected or actual removable aliens subject to civil detained requests because civil detainer requests are often not supported by an individualized determination of probable cause that a crime has been committed.
_____
As mentioned by The United States District Court Northern District California - it violates this Amendment:
Several courts have held that it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment for local jurisdictions to hold suspected or actual removable aliens subject to civil detained requests because civil detainer requests are often not supported by an individualized determination of probable cause that a crime has been committed.
_____
END OF 25 APRIL 2017 UPDATE
UPDATE 11 JANUARY 2018
END OF 11 JANUARY 2018 UPDATE
UPDATE 11 JANUARY 2018
_____
4.
As stated by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
This new bill increases who is subject to surveillance, allows warrantless search of American communications, expands how collected data can be used, and treats constitution protections as voluntary.
How exactly does the bill allow warrantless search of American communications?
Section 702 allows for the collection of American Citizens' communications that are swept up during foreign intelligence surveillance.
How is this bill unconstitutional?
All communication written and sent by Americans would be collected and stored on a database that can be accessed by intelligence agencies - the FBI and CIA. When the intelligence agencies search through the data of American Citizens they essentially jumped around the warrant the 4th Amendment requires they need to even search through said data:
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, ... and particularly describing ... [the] things to be seized.
-if needed this will be updated from time to time.-
_____
Is there an Amendment you would like to know more of?
to be taken to a list & choose which one you would like to learn more about.
This is a series that is ongoing - Every Wednesday [ #WednesdayAmendment ] there will be an Amendment Explanation paired with what President Trump & his administration have done that pertains to the Amendment discussed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment