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4th Amendment To Constitution In Orange
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Multi-State
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Orange
Control #:
US-000280
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FAQ
Writing for the majority, Justice Potter Stewart wrote that the Fourth Amendment "protects people, not places." Therefore, whatever a person "knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection." Justice Stewart continued by writing that "what he seeks to ...
The Fourth Amendment is very brief. Despite its importance, it's only one sentence long. It has two clauses: the "unreasonable search and seizure" clause and the "warrants" clause.
The amendment applies to governmental searches and seizures, but not those done by private citizens or organizations who are not acting on behalf of a government.
At the time it was adopted, the Fourth Amendment prohibited the government from entering into any home, warehouse, or place of business against the owner's wishes to search for or to seize persons, papers, or effects, absent a specific warrant.
Other well-established exceptions to the warrant requirement include consensual searches, certain brief investigatory stops, searches incident to a valid arrest, and seizures of items in plain view.
The Constitution, through the Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The Fourth Amendment, however, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law.
An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.
—For the Fourth Amendment to apply to a particular set of facts, there must be a “search” and a “seizure,” occurring typically in a criminal case, with a subsequent attempt to use judicially what was seized.
What constitutes an illegal search and seizure? Generally, a search or seizure is illegal under the Fourth Amendment if it occurs without consent, a warrant, or probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. However, there are several exceptions to the warrant requirement.
Generally, a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy for property and personal effects they hold open to the public. The Fourth Amendment does not protect things that are visible or in "plain view" for a person of ordinary and unenhanced vision.