Seizure

As American citizens, we enjoy safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures afforded to us by the 4th Amendment. Furthermore, the 4th Amendment grants us a reasonable expectation of privacy within our homes and on our persons. But, you may ask, what about when we are in our vehicles? Do we enjoy that same level of privacy as we do in our homes? According to our textbook no, we don’t. Our vehicles have a lesser expectation of privacy for several reasons, among them are mobility,…

“A key function of the Bill of Rights, therefore, is to protect the rights of those in the minority against the will of the majority.” (Sidlow, 2015, p. 72) It was also written to protect and defend the rights of every United States citizen when it comes to their basic rights, arms and religion. Additionally, it declares the rights of citizens when it comes to firearm possession and prohibits biased laws being passed with regard to religion. Another main reason for the Bill of rights to be…

Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment is meant to protect the citizen from unreasonable seizures and searches without a warrant. This includes having their homes, persons, and items in their homes searched by police as well as other officials. Following the Amendment, if a police officer suspects that a citizen has is perpetrating or is taking part in a crime, the office has first to obtain a warrant legally. The warrant has to be granted by a judge before the offer can enter the property of…

Constitution to give citizens rules to abide. Amendments are the rules that the citizens have to follow such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms and the right of privacy. The fourth amendment is the right to privacy such as no unreasonable seizures and searches to your personal belongings and property without any warrants. A search usually has to be based on probable cause- a reasonable basis to believe that the person can be linked to a crime (Remy, 2016). In this case, the topic about…

Facts Weeks faced charges of gambling using the Federal Mail System. U.S. Marshalls entered the residence of Week’s without proper documentation (Warrant) and confiscated documentation that was entered as evidence at his trial against him. Weeks then petitioned to have the property excluded and returned since it was taken in violation of his Fourth Amendment Rights. Procedural History A petition filed by Weeks at his trial stated that the property be returned to him since it was taken…

wanted to make sure that the central government wasn’t too powerful. The 4th Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights. It 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…

see the item, even if it’s by accident (Hall, 2014). The fourth element, which requires probable cause, also requires the evidence to be “immediately apparent” as evidence of a crime (Hall, 2014). The last element is important for the warrantless seizure to be legal. The officer must have been legally able to obtain the evidence (Hall,…

392 U.S. 1 (1968) Terry V. Ohio Facts: Police Detective Martin McFadden was an off duty police officer dressed in normal street clothes. On the afternoon of October 31, 1963 McFadden was walking around in downtown Cleveland. While he was out and about two men caught his eye. The men Chilton and Terry were standing on a street corner. McFadden was used to noticing strange and suspicious things and the behavior of these men struck him as suspicious. They were pacing up and down the street…

There are four factors used when distinguishing the open fields of curtilage. In Del Carmen (2012), the factors appear and are explained beginning with “The proximity of the area to the home, whether the area is in an enclosed surrounding the home, the nature and uses of the area, and the steps taken to conceal the area from public view.” An example of this could be that an officer investigates a reported stolen car that remains in an open field that does not contain a fence, the owner of the…

Alba Zhingri Terry vs. Ohio This case was decided on June 10, 1968. Detective Martin McFadden was known on the Cleveland police force for his skill in apprehending pickpockets. He was patrolling for many years. On October 31, 1963 he saw two men, John W. Terry and Richard Chilton, standing on a street corner and acting in a suspicious way. Both men were repeatedly going back and forth along an identical route, pausing to stare in the same store window. They were joined by a third man Carl Katz…