SUMMARY OF OUR 4TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS AS U.S. CITIZENS
Through the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, a private citizen of the country has the freedom of privacy and protection against unreasonable searches or seizure of property from law enforcement agents and officers.
All searches and seizures under Fourth Amendment must be reasonable. No excessive force shall be used. Reasonableness is the ultimate measure of the constitutionality of a search or seizure. Searches and seizures with the warrant must also satisfy the reasonableness requirement.
The 4th Amendment aims to protect individuals’ reasonable expectation of privacy against government officers: “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 WARRANT SHALL ISSUE,
(1) BUT UPON PROBABLE CAUSE,
(2) SUPPORTED BY OATH OR AFFIRMATION, AND
(3) PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED, AND THE PERSONS OR THINGS TO BE SEIZED.”
Government officers are only able to VALIDLY SEARCH CERTAIN AREAS and SEIZE ITEMS THAT ARE IN THE SEARCH WARRANT as explained through the reasonable belief that a crime occurred. If the officers SEARCH ANY OTHER PARTS OF THE PREMISES or SEIZE ITEMS THAT ARE NOT IN THE LIST, a legitimate challenge can occur during the case.
Without the proper procedure, a valid warrant or exigent circumstances, the defendant can issue a successful challenge for an illegal search or seizure. The lawyer will need to carefully consider all factors of the case and challenge evidence, the procedure followed by government officers and the search warrant. Searches and seizures performed outside of the scope of the warrant can invalidate the entire process.
