Fourth Amendment
Brinley Koenig
How It is Written:
The right of the people to be searched 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.
No one is allowed to be searched unless the official searching them has a warrant that was lawfully issued and specifically states the cause of the search and what is being searched for.
Why it was Added to the Constitution
In the early 1300's, Britain's king gave his officials general warrants, which allowed them to search, seize, or arrest anyone based on what they found. These warrants were often used to harass people of break into their homes. Similarly, in Britain's American colonies, British officials used warrants to seize property or arrest people based only on suspicions, and never stated a proper cause for the search. Congress wrote this amendment into the constitution to prevent something like that from occurring.
Supreme Court Case- Winston v. Lee (1985)
There was a court-approved surgery that was to be carries out to remove a bullet from a man, and this would link him to a crime he may have committed. In the end, the supreme court decided that the surgery was "unreasonable search and seizure", which is a right protected in the fourth amendment.
Sources Cited:
"Fourth Amendment." Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2015
"Fourth Amendment." Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.