...to determine if an activity is a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment? Privacy approach it’s deciding what constitute a search. The government argued there was no search of a person, house, papers, or effects, so the Fourth Amendment did not apply. 2. Please explain the Exclusionary Rule? How does the case of Mapp v. Ohio (1961) relate to the rule? Exclusionary rule is a rule of evidence that excludes evidence from being admitted in criminal trial. This rule relate to the case Mapp v. Ohio for the first time to protect the rights by the Fourth Amendment as the protection of the rights of the citizens of freedom from unreasonable search. 3. How does the plain view doctrine differ from the open fields doctrine? Plan view doctrine...
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...The Fourth Amendment A lot of people never realize how important the fourth amendment is . For example . Imagine you're driving your car and you don't realize it but you're going a little over speed and a cop comes and pulls you over. Then the police officer decides he wants to put you under arrest and search your car? If we didn't have the fourth amendment he would be able to do that, but luckily we do so he wouldn't be able to do that The fourth amendment in the constitution 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." it gives people the right to be secure in their home. It also stops the power of the police to search people their property and their homes Today the fourth amendment is interpreted as putting restrictions on...
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...Antoine Jones Fourth Amendment rights by planting a global positioning system on the defendant’s’...
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...will discuss some of the issues which address the origins of criminal law in America. These issues will include the importance of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and its relevance to today’s criminal law, the specific powers granted to the federal government versus those that are granted to state governments to make criminal laws, an explanation of the four main goals or purposes of the criminal justice system, and a clarification of police power and the limitations on such power. (Gardner & Anderson, 2011) 1. The Fourth Amendment The purpose of the 4th Amendment is to deny the national government the authority to make general searches and seizures of property. A major issue over the years has been the interpretation of "unreasonable" searches and seizures. The rules can be complicated. They also change often, but the general principle is that searches are valid methods of enforcing law and order, but unreasonable searches are prohibited. 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. Over the years, the Supreme Court has interpreted the 4th Amendment to allow the police to search the person arrested, things in plain view of the accused person,...
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...Our founding fathers in their quest to set forth protections of citizens enacted the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (GPOaccess.gov/constitution) The purpose behind this amendment is the people have the right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”. At face value you may believe that this amendment provides you with total protection from an illegal search and seizure. In this paper I will demonstrate that the Fourth Amendment does not cover searches that occur in open fields or for items that are observed in plain view. In order to form an opinion on the constitutionality of a warrantless search you first need to determine what an open field is and what would be considered private property. This is known as the Open Fields Doctrine. (Wetterer, 1998) Items in open fields are not protected by the Fourth Amendment so they can be seized by an officer without a warrant or probable cause. Open fields do not fall within any of these categories. What does “open fields” exactly mean? Open fields encompass any open, undeveloped property that is not intimately used for dwelling (including curtilage) or business. The main residence on a piece of land, any outbuildings closely connected with and in close proximity to it, and the land immediately surrounding the residence are all considered to be within the curtilage of the land and are areas in which there is a reasonable expectation of privacy...
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...and hard about the inclusion of a Bill of Rights .The key reason the Founders finally united and agreed to pass a Bill of Rights, even though the Federalists had initially argued that a piece of paper could not act to protect individual freedoms, was because they felt there had to be a way to “oblige the government to control itself,” (Postell). There are many searches of colonists’ private homes and their inability to protect themselves from such intrusions by the British Crown led the Founders to pass the Fourth Amendment (Flex Your Rights Foundation). At its core, the Fourth Amendment protects the right of the people to be free from an absolute government intrusion and from a government that has run wild with its own power. The Fourth Amendment says (Findlaw): 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. People have a right to feel safe in their houses and property cannot be lost to government action simply because the government has the power. To protect people from government intrusion and its aggressive exercise of power, probable cause was and is now required before a warrant is granted (Findlaw). Americans have an absolute right to be safe from unreasonable searches and...
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...States. It was quite simple; there wasn’t a bill of rights drafted in the original copy. Without a bill of rights, the people would never be aware of their unalienable rights and the power and roles of their government. Patrick Henry said, “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them,” at the Convention of Virginia in June 1788. He was trying to convey a message that showed the importance of citizens having their rights listed, so the government would never be able...
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...crown. It may be frail—its roof may shake—the wind may blow through it—the storm may enter, the rain may enter—but the King of England cannot enter—all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement." -William Pitt in Parliament in 1763- If freedom of speech, the first amendment, is the most important of our right than the Fourth Amendment, protection against unreasonable search and seizure is right behind it. To the framers of the constitution illegal search and seizure was deeply personal. British soldiers through writs of assistance had a blank check to search homes and personal belongings, this is likely why they included protections from such searches...
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...Abstract An examination of the Bill of Rights and how it extends the protection of the civil liberties to the population, with emphasis on the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, and a description of a public policy implemented to protect the constitutional rights of suspects, when interrogated by the police. The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties The Bill of Rights is the first initial inclusion of laws to the Constitution, collected as the first ten amendments out of a total of 27 other amendments. This paper discusses three amendments in the Bill of Rights which includes the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, with explanation of each amendment, and how it extends the protection of civil liberties to the population. The First Amendment This Amendment enacts the protection of free speech, religion, press, assembly, and freedom to petition the government (Dautrich & Yolof, 2011). The purpose of this Amendment is to prevent any directive establishing an adherence to a specific religion or any law prohibiting free practice of speech, assembly, and freedom of the press (Volkomer, 2011) The Amendment exclusively affects all individuals living in the U.S. including citizens within the U.S. government. It protects the right for an individual to express themselves freely, without fear of retaliation. The First Amendment is so important, because it protects the rights of the citizens to engage in open discussions and debate on public issues, which are important in any...
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...Name: cherry boom Case Name | STATE of Missouri V. Tyler G. McNEELY | Citation(year) | 358 S.W.3d 65 January 17, 2012 | Ct/J. | John G. Roberts Chief Justice | Pro. History | A trial judge ruled in McNeely's favor to suppress the results of the blood test, stating that administering a blood test without a warrant was a violation of the suspect's Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. State prosecutors later argued that the administration of the test without a warrant was justified as blood alcohol would be metabolized with time, and a delay in obtaining a warrant would amount to destruction of evidence, citing the exigent circumstances exception in the United States Supreme Court decision Schmerber v. California. On appeal, the state appeals court stated an intention to reverse, but transferred the case directly to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decision that the officer had violated McNeely's Fourth Amendment rights. | Short Facts | On October 3, 2010, at approximately 2:08 A.M., patrolman Mark Winder stopped Tyler G. McNeely for speeding. During the routine traffic stop, Winder thought McNeely showed signs of intoxication, including bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and the smell of alcohol on his person. As a result, Winder had McNeely perform multiple field-sobriety tests. According to Winder’s later testimony, because McNeely performed poorly on each of these tests, Winder...
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...For generations, it has been a proudly proclaimed by Americans that they have the right to bear arms. This right, however, is under attack from the forty-six percent of Americans who now believe that the United States needs to pass stricter gun laws or change the second amendment. This number is decreased three points from just four months ago (Diamond). The second amendment should not be repealed or amended due to the Supreme Court’s YEAR ruling on the second amendment, the lack of success of gun control in other countries, and the necessity of...
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...Despite the concerted efforts of Patrick Henry and all of the rest of the Anti-Federalists, James Madison had succeeded in sponsoring the Bill of Rights and preventing the nation from suffering the consequences of a second constitutional convention. The first two amendments put forward by Congress fell short of ratification and were discarded. Thus, we have a Bill of Rights with 10 amendments. Over the more than 225 years since ratification, the Bill of Rights has assumed greater and greater importance. Originally the Bill of Rights was mostly intended to limit the powers of the new government, however, since then it has become fundamental in securing the rights of citizens against the state and the government. Eventually the Fourth through...
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...for their rights. One of those rights was the protection from illegal searches and seizures. When the Congress debated on the wording of the Fourth Amendment, they had an extreme importance of needed protection from government encroachment. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed and written specifically to protect citizens from illegal searches and seizures: “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.” [1] The exclusionary rule excludes evidence that was collected from an illegal search from being presented to convict someone of a crime. It is asserted to reject illegitimate police behavior by not allowing unlawfully seized evidence from being allowed in court. [2] When defense lawyers use the exclusionary rule, properly, it consistently damaging the district attorney’s case. This is why the officers are constantly being reminded not to violate the rights of the accused. In the latter part of the twentieth century, the use of the exclusionary rule became confused between the costs and benefits of implementing the rule. [3] When a defendant has allegedly committed a crime, how far should the courts proceed in order to protect the rights of the accused...
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...dire. Many of the Patriot Act’s virtues are in violation of the U.S. Constitution, a document outlined in order to protect American rights and freedoms. The Patriot Act infringes on the First Amendment rights, which is protects the of freedom of speech,...
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...Workplace Privacy: Privacy Rights in the Workplace Marisol Cortez National University Legal Aspects of Business I Law 304 Jack B. Hamlin, M.S., J.D. October 23, 2011 Abstract Workplace Privacy: Is an employer issued search of employer issued property to their employees a violation of the employees’ Fourth Amendment right of freedom from unreasonable search and seizure? This paper will examine the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to the case of City of Ontario v. Jeff Quon that has provided a significant change of the views on workplace privacy law in this country. The majority of U.S. employees believe that it is their constitutional right to have reasonable workplace privacy. However, most U.S. employees are unaware that their constitutional right to privacy is contingent upon the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment’s rights to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. This constitutional right is generally applied to state actions and they are at times limited to protecting only federal, state, and municipal employees. Furthermore, this paper will discuss the influences of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to private sector employment because of the parallel common law standard of “reasonable expectations of privacy” which is the primary piece of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) the federal legislation suggesting employee privacy interest in prohibiting unlawful access and certain disclosures of contents in certain forms of communication...
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