4th Amendment Pros And Cons

As a result of delegates to the state conventions wishing that the liberty of people would be secured, the first Congress realized that various changes would be required to reduce any pressure of needing a second constitutional convention, which could have potentially depleted and modified the recently settled federal government. Out of the hundreds of drafted amendments, 4th President of the United States James Madison introduced twenty of his amendments. Congress approved twelve, and ten were ratified by the states. In November of 1791, the first ten amendments to the Constitution entered into force. Albeit amendments one through ten are titled the Bill of Rights, only the first eight established individual rights.

Placing the amendments

The Fourth Amendment: The 4th amendment provides protection in regards to the issuance of warrants sans probable cause and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. This amendment implements the limit of law enforcement power to conduct searches, seize property, and make arrests. The 4th amendment however does permit searches and seizures when reasonable justification as to why the police need to conduct a search is established. If an individual believes to have a well-founded expectation of privacy of the location or material being searched, the 4th amendment will be upheld. The 4th amendment is classified as the most significant in terms of criminal justice due to the fact police do not violate the fourth amendment by making reasonable mistakes, however, intentional ignorance of the law is not excused. As the definition of “unreasonable” can be debated, the Supreme Court has upheld the idea that probable cause and reasonable suspicion in necessary, as opposed to a mere guess. The 4th amendment is constantly involved in various police situations such as making an arrest, stopping a person for questioning, entering a home to search for evidence, etc. It is necessary that police adhere to their obligation to protect said rights by possessing a valid arrest/search warrant and establish probable cause, or there is the risk of the evidence being non valid as per the exclusionary

The Sixth Amendment: The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is mainly directed towards ensuring the rights of the accused. Under this amendment, criminal defendants have the right to a speedy trial. When determining whether or not this right has been violated, the Supreme Court analyzes: how long the delay lasted, the reason, the degree of prejudice to the defendant if caused, and most importantly whether or not the defendant consented to the delay, therefore waiving their right to later object. Aside from a speedy trial, defendants also have the right to a public trial, though it is not absolute due to circumstances of excess publicity that may cause harm. In addition to rights concerning the defendant’s trial, the accused also possess the right to a fair and impartial jury. The questioning of prospective jurors during the vior dire process allows both the defense and prosecution to determine whether prospective jurors are competent to serve. During the vior dire process, attorneys may deliberately veto jurors without stating a reason, in an attempt to dismiss non-advantageous jurors. Similar to many legal proceedings, a criminal defendant has the right to be informed of the specific cause and nature of the crime in which they are accused of. The Fifth Amendment also extends to the right to confront and cross-examine prosecution witnesses. Lastly, the major component of the Fifth Amendment is the right to assistance of counsel. The rulings of