Pre-Founding and 18th Century Quotes on the Fourth Amendment

Ever wonder how the law adapts to technology that makes it harder or easier for police to search and seize suspected criminals? Orin Kerr posits that an Equilibrium-adjustment exists. "Courts respond to the new facts by trying to restore the old level of protection. If a new technology or practice increased government power, courts ratchet up Fourth Amendment...

"Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging misuse of the federal 'material witness' statute, which allows detention of a witness when 'it may become impracticable to secure the presence of the person by subpoena,' to hold terrorism suspects after 9/11. The case was brought by Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen who was detained for 16 days...

"In America, we're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Life, liberty, and property can't be taken from you unless you're convicted of a crime.

Your life and liberty may still be safe, but have you ever gone to a government surplus auction? Consumer reporters like me tell people, correctly, that they are great places to...

"Boalt Hall Law Professor and Visiting AEI Scholar John Yoo writes in a short piece on the AEI website that we should consider using data mining to pursue terrorists. He makes at least two errors: one historical and one statistical.

Discussing the recent vogue for making U.S. law more like Britain's, Yoo writes:

"In June, the Supreme Court decided that Detroit police did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of a drug dealer named Booker Hudson when they entered his home in August 1998 only five seconds after announcing their presence at his door. Hudson's lawyers argued that--although he had a loaded gun hidden in the couch next to him--police should have waited to...

"CNET has learned that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications Assistance Center, which is tasked with developing new electronic surveillance technologies, including intercepting Internet, wireless, and VoIP communications."

"The FBI director and a Republican congressman sketched out a far-reaching plan this week for warrantless surveillance of the Internet.

During a House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearing, the FBI's Robert Mueller and Rep. Darrell Issa of California talked about what amounts to a two-step approach. Step 1 involves asking Internet service providers to open their networks to the...

In this article, Mr. Anthony illustrates how the surveillance powers granted under the Patriot Act have been used to circumvent traditional warrant procedure--even when the suspect had no real connection to terrorism. He argues that FISA and the Patriot Act run afoul of the Fourth Amendment. 

"Today, in an 8-to-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that Arizona public school officials violated the Fourth Amendment rights of a 13-year-old eighth-grader when they subjected her to a strip search because they thought she might be hiding ibuprofen in her underwear.

As I've said before, this is the best result that...

"Given the opportunity to clarify existing law and confirm that American citizens are not subject to indefinite military detention at the order of the president — Congress punted.

After a debate in which key members seriously contemplated empowering the president to 'Gitmo-ize' Americans suspected of terrorist activity, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 leaves the question...

"In 1961, in Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme Court reversed Ms. Mapp's conviction and adopted the exclusionary rule as a national standard. The court acknowledged that the rule might let some criminals go free, but it underscored that it was more important to compel the nation's police forces to obey the law.

The court carved out...

Three parts of the Patriot Act were recently voted upon for re-authorization. Julian Sanchez details what these provisions provide, why they are an abridgment of fundamental rights, and why they are not necessary.

"When the police or other Executive Branch officers conduct searches under civil and environmental statutes, settled Fourth Amendment jurisprudence provides them with substantially more constitutional authority to search private businesses without a search warrant...

Scully tackles the tricky subject of the exclusionary rule--the concept that evidence obtained through an unreasonable search and seizure cannot be used against a defendant. He argues that the exclusionary rule runs counter to the idea of justice. Justice, Matthew tells us, is punishing the guilty and exonerating the innocent.

...

During President Clinton's impeachment trial, Special Investigator Kenneth Starr asked President Clinton specific, embarrassing questions regarding his relations with Ms. Lewinsky. Jeffrey Rosen points out the President should have pleaded the Fourth Amendment -- and we should too! He claims that the Fourth Amendment allows citizens to avoid answering "overly...

"The Exclusionary Rule is available to a Defendant in a criminal case as a remedy for illegal searches that violate the rights set forth in the Fourth Amendment. When applicable, the rule dictates that the evidence illegally obtained must be excluded as evidence under the Fourth Amendment. See Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643. One important corollary...

Orin Kerr finds it odd that the government chose not to invoke national security to justify seizing Al-Kidd. He argues seizures must pass two thresholds. First, there must be probable cause. Second, there must be a pressing government interest. In this case, Mr. Kerr argues both planks would be met.

"For the first few years I had her, I was impressed by my late dog Harper's uncanny ability to assess people's character. She hated every crappy landlord and bad roommate. Barked at them. Snarled at them. Wouldn't go near them. But if I brought home a date I liked, Harper, a Shar Pei/Labrador mix, would curl up right next to the woman and turn on the charm. It took...

Andrew McCarthy argues Tea Party Republicans are mistaken for opposing the Patriot Act. He discusses three Patriot Act provisions Congress allowed to sunset claiming they did not represent an increase in federal power. Instead, they represent giving the FBI and other intelligence agencies the same power other police have had for a long time. He claims these...

"In August a team of heavily armed Orange County, Florida, sheriff's deputies raided several black- and Hispanic-owned barbershops in the Orlando area. There were more raids in September and October. According to the Orlando Sentinel, barbers and customers were held at gunpoint, some in handcuffs, while police turned the shops upside down. A total of nine shops...

"One of the more extreme government abuses of the post-9/11 era targets U.S. citizens re-entering their own country, and it has received far too little attention. With no oversight or legal framework whatsoever, the Department of Homeland Security routinely singles out individuals who are suspected of no crimes, detains them and questions them at the airport, often for hours, when they return...

"A Federal judge ruled Thursday that the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping program is unconstitutional. But the Justice Department, citing the program's importance as an early warning system, has already announced that it plans to appeal this ruling. Cato Senior Fellow of Constitutional Studies, Robert Levy, discusses the meaning of this court's ruling."

"The high court handled several cases dealing with the Fourth Amendment this term. Ilya Shapiro, Cato Senior Fellow of Constitutional Studies and Editor of Cato's Supreme Court Review comments."

"Public historian J.L. Bell, legal scholars Frederick Lane and Joseph McEttrick, and Kurt Opsahl, discuss the historical origins of the protection against unreasonable search and seizure, as well as modern challenges to this long-cherished protection of our rights.

The protection against unreasonable governmental search and...

"Flex Your Rights' first film, BUSTED has become a cult classic. Humor and helpful tips combine to make this video a must-see for freedom lovers everywhere. Created by Flex Your Rights and narrated by retired ACLU director Ira Glasser, BUSTED realistically depicts the pressure and confusion of common police encounters.

In an...

"The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed 'Perfect Citizen' to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with the program. The surveillance by the National Security Agency, the government's chief...

"A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Mayfield v. United States of America in the historic Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, February 5, 2009. The United States was appealing the ruling that two provisions of the Patriot Act dealing with searches and intelligence gathering violate the Fourth...

"Down on the boardwalk, we interview a few young Americans to find out what they know about the Constitution of the United States. Can you answer the questions? Does it matter?"

In this video, Rand Paul and Judge Andrew Napolitano discuss the historical importance of the 4th Amendment, as well as its erosion today.

In this provocative episode, Las Vegas magicians-turned-social commentators Penn Jillette and his silent partner Teller give their take on the American Justice System.

*Viewer discretion advised. Graphic language and visual material is not suited for children.*

"This report is divided into six chapters. Chapter Two describes in detail the circumstances in which the FBI used exigent letters and other informal requests to obtain telephone records from the three on-site communications service providers. This chapter also contains our analysis of each of these methods for obtaining telephone records and other...

Prior to the Revolutionary War, the English King issued writs of assistance to his officers in the colonies. These warrants gave their executors search and seizure authority, but named no offense, were executable by any officer of the crown, lasted indefinitely and provided no other protections. James Otis calls the writs "the worst instrument of arbitrary power."...

This particular Fourth Amendment case poses an interesting scenario, as the votes on the decision were not along normal liberal/conservative lines. The case in question involved a warrantless police search of an individual's car in which illegal drugs were discovered. The court...

This case, decided by the United States Supreme Court, dealt with the constitutionality of warrant-less arrests for misdemeanor crimes, in this case, not wearing a seatbelt. Justice David Souter delivered the majority opinion, saying that the Fourth Amendment does not forbid law enforcement officers from making an arrest for a misdemeanor...

"The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (or BSA, or otherwise known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act) requires U.S.A. financial institutions to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering. Specifically, the act requires financial...

This case is part of the legal cannon regarding warrant requirements. It defines probable cause and lays down the requirements for particularity and evidence. The case arose when New York issued a warrant to police officers to "bug" a suspect's house under a law that only required "reasonable ground to believe that evidence of crime may be thus obtained...

In regards to the Fourth Amendment, this Supreme Court case, written by Chief Justice William H. Taft,  established the Carroll Doctrine, otherwise known as the automobile exception. In writing the the majority opinion, Chief Justice Taft argued that that it was permissible for law enforcement officers to execute warrantless searches on automobiles, so long as...

"The Court concludes that the compulsory, secret, and unreviewable production of information required by the FBI's application of 18 U.S.C 2709 violates the Fourth Amendment, and that the non-disclosure provision of the 18 U.S.C 2709(c) violates the First Amendment."

"In a complaint filed in April 2005, EPIC asked a federal court to force the FBI to disclose information about its use of expanded investigative authority granted by sunsetting provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. The agency agreed to quickly process EPIC's Freedom of Information Act request for the data, but did not comply with the timeline for even a standard FOIA...

The Fourth Amendment is inextricably linked to intelligence gathering activities. In 1981, President Reagan declared that "[t]imely and accurate information about the activities, capabilities, plans, and intentions...

This fact sheet from the Department of Justice outlines the provisions from the original Patriot Act that were set to expire 4 years after passage of the act. It discusses key elements of counterterrorism efforts included in the Patriot Act and its reauthorization that are meant to stop terrorist attacks and protect American citizens.

"We all agreed that we needed legislation to make it harder for suspected terrorists to go undetected in this country. Americans everywhere wanted that.

But soon after the PATRIOT Act passed, a few years before I ever arrived in the Senate, I began hearing concerns from people of every background and political leaning that this...

The Terrorist Surveillance Program, authorized by President George W. Bush, was severely questioned by many Americans who wondered whether or not it violated their Fourth Amendment rights. In this...

The petitioner in this case was arrested and indicted based on expired warrant. Due to the clerical error, the petitioner argued that his conviction was based on illegally obtained evidence. The Supreme Court, however, declared that "[w]hen police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than...

This Supreme Court case dealt with the common law doctrine of police officers first knocking on the door and announcing their presence before said officers execute a search warrant and enter the home of a citizen. 

In this case, Detroit police officers were issued a warrant to search Booker T. Hudson's residence for drugs...

This letter, put to paper by the 2nd President of the United States, gives some of the legal and historical background surrounding the subject of writs of assistance in the colonies before the American Revolution.

This case is considered a landmark case in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence as it established the benchmark prerequisite test for warrants. According to Justice Stewart, who wrote the majority opinion for this case, the Fourth Amendment "protects people, not places" and that the rule of thumb for warrants is whether or not there is a "reasonable expectation of...

This case revolved around a warrant-less search in which police encountered illegal marijuana possession. The Kentucky Supreme Court determined that the police department had failed to follow the proper procedures in entering a house without a warrant. Since this decision was released, the case has continued on to the U.S. Supreme Court. A transcript of the oral...

"On behalf of the American Bar Association, I write to direct your attention to provisions of the House- and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 that are of concern to the ABA, and to urge consideration of our concerns during your efforts to reconcile the two versions of the bill...

"Liberty, Order, and Justice represents a new and unique approach to the study of American government. It is based on the premise that in order to understand the dynamics of the American political system, the inquiring reader must first become familiar with the constitutional framework that shapes and controls the political process. In other words,...

This case is considered a landmark case because prior to this case, the exclusionary rule applied only to federal cases. Through 14th Amendment Due Process, the exclusionary rule was incorporated into the states. This prevents the prosecution from using evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. This case overturned Wolf v. Colorado.

"In an action brought by a former suspect in the 2004 Madrid train bombings and his family claiming that several provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as amended by the PATRIOT Act were unconstitutional, judgment for...

"Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to extend through February 28, 2011, provisions: (1) granting roving surveillance authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) where the court finds that the actions of the target may thwart the identification of a specified person or other persons (by using multiple...

"In the District of Columbia, officers without a warrant knocked on the door of petitioner's apartment and upon his inquiry, 'Who's there?' replied in a low voice, 'Police.' Petitioner opened the door but quickly tried to close it, whereupon the officers broke the door, entered, arrested petitioner and seized marked bills which were later admitted as evidence over petitioner's objection at a...

"Written by Elbridge Gerry, member of the Philadelphia Convention from Massachusetts, and one of the number who refused to sign the Constitution, for reasons given in his letter to the presiding officers of the Massachusetts legislature ...." Gerry uses this document to present some of his objections to the Constitution, many of which centered around the lack of a Bill of Rights. Item number...

The Olmstead case is one of the most infamous Fourth Amendment cases. The incriminating evidence was obtained electronically without a warrant. The Supreme Court decided that a search and seizure did not occur because a physical trespass did not occur. This precedent has since been overruled.

This speech in the House chamber details why Representative McClintock withdrew his support from the Patriot Act. McClintock first recounts the circumstances leading up to the creation of the Fourth Amendment, and then relates an anecdote from Russia which demonstrates the importance of the Fourth Amendment.

Senator Thomas Daschle (D-SD) introduced this bill to the Senate, which was supposed to "deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes." Although it never passed, some of its provisions were incorporated into the Patriot Act.

This case revolved around a school strip-search of a 13-year-old girl for her alleged possession of ibuprofen. Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the high court, declaring that "[b]ecause there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were...

"Peter Semayne held a house in common with George Beriford, who died, leaving his goods in the house. Semayne also held a statute-staple, a type of bond securing a debt from Beriford. Semayne sought a writ to secure Beriford's lands...

Speech made by Senator Russ Feingold on the Senate Floor before passage of the Patriot Act. The sole senator to vote against the Patriot Act, Senator Feingold spells out his reasons for opposing the legislation and offers amendments to the bill. One of the reasons Senator Feingold gives for his opposition has to do with the Fourth Amendment. According to Feingold,...

This case is considered a landmark Fourth Amendment case as it codified the law enforcement tactic of a "stop and frisk" search, colloquially known as a "Terry Stop."

In this case, a plain-clothed police officer witnessed two men behaving suspiciously. After identifying himself as a police officer, he stopped the men...

"Following the December 2005 disclosure by the New York Times of a highly-classified National Security Agency surveillance program that was authorized by President Bush shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, there has been a...

This document presents information about the Terrorist Surveillance Program, a security measure intended to help track terrorist information. The document poses common objections to the measure, one of which is the idea that "NSA activities violate the Fourth...

"The USA PATRIOT Act passed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. It flows from a consultation draft circulated by the Department of Justice, to which Congress made substantial modifications and additions. The stated purpose of the Act is to enable...

In this particular case, FBI officials relied on permission from an individual involved in a bribery case rather than a warrant to set up a secret video camera in a hotel room. The case revolved around whether or not this warrantless evidence was...

Complete text of the Patriot Act enrolled as Public Law 107--56.

This case resulted in the creation of the "exclusionary rule", meaning that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in trial. In this case, Marshals entered Mr. Weeks' house and discovered letters incriminating him. They did not have a warrant. The Court claimed that without the exclusionary rule, "the protection of the Fourth...

This Executive Order amended President Reagan's order on...

"Without our consent and often without our knowledge, the government can constantly monitor many of our daily activities, using closed circuit TV, global positioning systems, and a wide array of other sophisticated technologies. With just a few keystrokes, records containing our financial information, phone and e-mail logs, and sometimes even our medical histories...

"This book examines the history of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, and its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court. It concentrates on the changes in interpretation that have taken place since the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1961, decided in Mapp v. Ohio to apply the exclusionary rule--which...

"The Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure provides the bulwark for police regulation and many other government functions in the United States. One of the most controversial rights in the Bill of Rights, this amendment is also among the most frequently adjudicated provisions of constitutional law. Yet its meaning has remained deeply...

"Flex Your Rights (Flex), a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit, was launched in 2002. Our mission is to educate the public about how basic Bill of Rights protections apply during encounters with law enforcement. To accomplish this, we create and distribute the most compelling, comprehensive and trustworthy know-your-rights media available."

A variety of articles, events, and academic studies on the Constitution from the Cato Institute.