ipl-logo

4th Amendment Research Paper

1080 Words5 Pages

On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed and The United States of America declared itself a separate and independent nation. On June 21, 1788 the United States Constitution was made official, replacing the Articles of Confederation. Since its ratification, the Constitution has been amended several times in order to better apply to current times and situations the Founding Fathers could not have predicted. Despite all the changes the Constitution has gone through, its core principles remain. The authors of the Constitution set limits, which still apply to our modern day society, on each branch of government. These branches consist of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches. The Legislative branch is responsible for …show more content…

The Fourth Amendment was formally sanctioned in 1791 as a direct response to the Writs of Assistance. These were search warrants issued by courts to assist the British government in enforcing trade and navigation laws. The warrants authorized officers to search any house for smuggled goods without specifying either the house or the goods. The Fourth Amendment was proposed to stop this and states, “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.” In laymen terms, this amendment prevented officers to search people’s property without their consent, or the approval of a judge. In order to get such approval, the officer must have probable cause and swear they believe a crime is being committed. However, if the judiciary is not present, officers were able to conduct a warrantless search. This changed in 1914, when the Supreme Court established the exclusionary rule. This rule states that evidence obtained unconstitutionally is excluded in court and cannot be used as part of the case. The Fourth Amendment goes hand in hand with the Fourteenth Amendment which states that no state, “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, …show more content…

Reasonably, the Founding Fathers desired a republican form of government, where the citizens of the United States were able to vote for the people who they wished to be represented by. And while Thomas Jefferson wrote “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence, it excluded several citizens who were entitled to a vote. Originally, only Caucasian men were allowed to vote, this changed in 1870 when all men who were citizens, regardless of race, were allowed to vote, as stated in the 15th Amendment. It was not until 1920 when all citizens, despite their sex, were allowed to vote because of the 19th Amendment. In 1971, the voting age was changed from 21 to 18 and this was made into the 26th Amendment. However, 19 states allow citizens of the age of 17 to vote as long as they will be 18 by Election Day. It is shameful to think that some of the authors of the Constitution believed blacks to be second class citizens and women to be frail and ignorant citizens. It is even more shameful to think that some citizens still think that. Nevertheless, America, as a whole, has advanced and left those archaic beliefs and gender roles behind. Now, all citizens who are old enough to vote are able to elect who represents them. The Constitution states that each state

Show More
Related

Petitioner Vs. Joelis Jardines Case Study

1901 Words | 8 Pages

In the foundational case of Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967), the Supreme Court broadened the scope of the Fourth Amendment by holding that it applies when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Looking further, does that mean that the government can contradict all Fourth Amendment protections by saying that employees should have no hope of privacy, according to the department’s policies? Determining the reasonableness of any search involves a twofold inquiry: first, one must consider 'whether the . . . action was justified at its inception'; second, one must determine whether the search as actually conducted 'was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place (Chemerinksy, E., 2010). The court decided this way because they majority felt that the searching of the home with the police dog is within the Fourth Amendment rights and was a reasonable search.

Read More

Terry Vs Ohio Case Study

448 Words | 2 Pages

But the officer continued to pat down the persons to find illegal weapons. The case went to the Supreme Court and the court was convinced that it does not violate the fourth amendment to pat down a person to find any illegal weapons by the police officer if the officer suspects that the person may have committed a crime or going to do a crime. As per this case, we can understand that a

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Laws Over Congress

1431 Words | 6 Pages

After experiencing that the Articles of Confederation granted too little power to the federal government, the Founders decided to replace it with the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution was created to protect citizen’s rights and provide more power to central government. However, the Founders did not want the government to hold too much power, they created three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial branch so that one branch could limit the power of the others. This is also called checks and balances. Each branch carries different tasks but still works together towards the same common goals to ensure that the U.S. is developed and thrived.

Read More

The Three Branches

1249 Words | 5 Pages

With the formation of the Constitution came the formation of the three branches of the U.S. government: the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch. Each branch had its own duties and responsibilities independent of the others and also checked the powers of the other two to make sure they did not abuse

Read More

Differences Between 1776 And 1870

281 Words | 2 Pages

Meaning that African American men could vote, but during 1776 only people who own land can vote Just a little after 1870 Susan B. Anthony was arrested because she tried to vote and she was a woman, major differences spark between then and now, 2016 anyone over 18 can vote. Whether you are a man or a woman. In 1776 size population changed drastically the population was around 2.3 million, but only a couple years later the population of the U.S. was over 3 million. As you can see time changes many things.

Read More

4th Amendment Case Study

829 Words | 4 Pages

Per this rule, the issue is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. David Riley was driving with expired tags when he was arrested. The police impounded the car when they realized that his license was suspended. Policy states that when a car is impounded, an inventory search must be conducted. He was arrested for possession of loaded firearms.

Read More

Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Us Constitution

1029 Words | 5 Pages

The United States was founded when it declared its independence on July 2, 1776. The citizens of the US celebrate its birthday two days later because the language of the independence wasn’t finalized by Congress until July 4, 1776. When the US constitution was established it had made rules and regulations for the people to abide by as well as to grant rights for the people to have. The constitution was officially signed on September 17, 1787 by the people in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Before the constitution was ever created the states acted as if they were independent countries because the only document that they were being lead by was the Articles of Confederation.

Read More

4th Amendment

656 Words | 3 Pages

Joseph, This is a great question. The main issue presented with digital evidence and the Fourth Amendment are the limitations presented during the investigation of criminal cases. The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of every citizen in the country, which makes law enforcement 's job of enforcing the law a complicated process. Also, the amendment states that only due to a reasonable cause, a search and seizure shall be performed, and most of the times after obtaining a warrant.

Read More

Exclusionary Rule

1231 Words | 5 Pages

Certain rules are in place to ensure that not only citizens are protected against unjust stops and or searches against police. The same rules are also in place to protect police to ensure that they follow certain rules to make sure that the arrests or evidence gathered has been properly obtained. Without rules such as the Fourth Amendment, officers would be able to stop and search people at will and invade privacy, more court cases would also be a result and that would be more time and money spent due to the cost of court procedures. Many might not agree that rules and laws are double sided for their protection, some feel the Fourth Amendment only covers the people that the courts want to and others feel that officers can get around the

Read More

The Importance Of The Fourth Amendment

300 Words | 2 Pages

The Fourth Amendment provides defense against illegal search and seizures. Essentially, one can rest assured that the police will not simply enter his house without any cause or warrant, search until they find something incriminating, and then legally use that discovery to charge the person with a crime. Instead, there are many very specific rules and regulations about how something can be discovered and even damning evidence found incorrectly is thrown out (Katsh, 2013). This is an important constitutional right as it ensures that witch-hunts that aim specifically to find something illegal are never carried out and instead the law enforcement aim is to properly catch someone who is doing something wrong.

Read More

Essay On Fourth Amendment

1074 Words | 5 Pages

The Amendment That Gives Us Protection The constitution of the United States was written in 1789 and it consists of 27 amendments. One of the amendments is the fourth. The fourth amendment states that the people have a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures and shall not be violated without a warrant issued upon probable cause. The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and requires that search warrants need to be reviewed by the judge and a reason.

Read More

Disenfranchisement Laws In America

714 Words | 3 Pages

In the first couple of centuries after the Europeans first came to the Americas and established colonies they also established a government. However, the United States government in the 17th century has numerous differences from the American government in the 21st century. American citizens have overcome numerous obstacles for gaining the right to vote. During the 20th century both women and African Americans gained the right to vote. There was even an amendment established in the United States Constitution, the fifteenth amendment, which prohibits state and federal governments from denying any citizen the right to vote despite their race, religion, or the state of being subjugated to a person more powerful.

Read More

Should Voting Laws Be Allowed To Vote In America

523 Words | 3 Pages

In 1776 the Declaration of Independence is signed and the right to vote during the Colonial and Revolutionary periods is restricted to white, free, male property owners over the age of 21. This amounted to 6 percent of the adult population at the time and continued the legacy of white supremacy and bourgeois dominance. (Keyes, Millhiser, Ostern, & White, 2012) In 1787 the United States Constitution was adopted and it provided our country with its structure as well as its fundamental political and civil rights. The Bill of Rights included various freedoms but absent was the right to vote.

Read More

Colored People Have The Right To Vote

1728 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout history, people fought to have their voice counted and included. Under the old rule, voting was only inclusive to white males, aged 21 and older. According to the White House, over time, voting rights have been extended and now include citizens of all 50 states, with no discrimination against “race,

Read More

Voting In America Essay

864 Words | 4 Pages

This Amendment allows United States citizens who are 18 or older who are eligible to vote. Like mentioned previously, during the beginning of the 20th century mostly white males 21 or older could vote. It wasn’t until July 1971 that the ratification of lowering the voting age was passed into law by President Richard Nixon. During World War II the consideration for lowering the voting age to 18 wasn’t really thought of. The idea that if you were old enough to serve for the United States you were old enough to vote during a federal election.

Read More

More about 4th Amendment Research Paper

Open Document