1. Running head: THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXPLAINED 1
The Fourth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution Explained
Jeremy Duncan
March 17, 2015
CJ3010011

2. THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXPLAINED 2
Abstract
The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution is very important, not only to the
government agents who may perform searches and seizures, but also the citizens that these
stipulations are designed to protect. The interpretation of this amendment and the court decisions
that followed have shaped the police in America that we see today. It has a long history and is
reaching turmoil in the region of new and advancing technology that was not foreseen by the
creators of this amendment.

3. THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXPLAINED 3
The Fourth Amendment to
The U.S. Constitution Explained
The fourth amendment was added to the United States Constitution along with nine
others on December 15, 1791 when Virginia became the tenth state to ratify the Bill of Rights
(Bill of Rights). It has been 223 years and 3 months since the Bill of Rights were ratified and the
fourth amendment is still used on a daily basis in the criminal justice system. Legislators, law
enforcement officers, and judges have been struggling for years to determine exactly what our
forefathers meant in regards to new technology and situations that did not exist in their time. The
fourth amendment is much clearer today than it was in 1791 thanks to the power of Judicial
Review and the defense attorneys protecting their clients’ rights.
History
The United States declared their freedom from the British in 1776 with the Declaration of
Independence and had since been operating under the Articles of Confederation (The Declaration
of Independence). Seeing that it wasn’t working, they set up a new style of government under the
United States Constitution. Afraid of starting a government that would become too powerful,
like the Britain government, the states required that a set of amendments be added to the
Constitution to prevent total control of the government and allow individual freedoms to prosper.
Among those ten amendments was the fourth amendment; a controversial law that restricts the
governments’ reign over their citizens.
How it Works
In brief, the fourth amendment states that any search and seizure of a person, their house,
papers, and affects must be accompanied by a warrant granted via a third-party judge based on

4. THE FOURTH AMENDMENT EXPLAINED 4
probable cause (Ferdico, J. 20). This rule only applies to government agents searching citizens. A
search has only occurred when a government agent has breached a persons’ reasonable
expectation of privacy. Defining a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” has been the ongoing
struggle of the criminal justice system.
To obtain a warrant, a police officer must gather sufficient evidence to support probable
cause that a crime has been, will be, or is being committed and present it to a neutral party,
usually a judge (Masters, R. 207). This warrant must be very specific as to where an officer may
search and what the officer is searching for. If, for example, an officer searches in a closet of a
bedroom when the warrant specifically states the objective is an automobile, then the officer is
unlawfully searching that residence.
There are, however, exceptions to the warrant requirement that improve public safety and
protect individual rights. Automobiles may be searched without a warrant due to their readily-
mobile nature and lack of privacy expectations; the same goes for international borders and
airports. Stop-and-frisks may be executed on suspects if there is a reasonable suspicion that the
suspect may be concealing a weapon (Masters, R. 208). Sobriety checkpoints are completely
lawful because the number of death from drunk driving is high enough that the public safety is at
stake. All contents of a vehicle must be inventoried upon impounding by the police; this
constitutes a legal search even if the owner was not consenting. The U.S. Supreme Court has
broadened the warrantless search and seizure boundaries over the years and there many other
scenarios that make them legal.
Exclusionary Rule and Exceptions

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The exclusionary rule applies to evidence gained from an unreasonable search or seizure
in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Exclusionary Rule). Evidence obtained illegally cannot
be used against the suspect in a criminal prosecution. This is the motivation for police officers to
follow the rules when it comes to searching; arresting criminals doesn’t do any good if the
evidence doesn’t convict them. The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends the definition of
the exclusionary rule to state that any evidence found using the unlawfully obtained material
cannot be used in a criminal trial (Masters, R 211).
With every rule, there are exceptions that must be taken into account. Following are
reasons that illegally obtained evidence would still be admissible in court. The Good Faith
Exception applies when police officers search via a warrant that is later declared invalid; the
officers were acting in good faith that the warrant was valid and therefore executed a legal
search. If the evidence would have been found with or without the illegal search, the evidence
stands because of “inevitable discovery” (Masters, R. 212)
Why Does it Matter?
The fourth amendment is used to protect the citizens of the United States of America
from unreasonable searches and seizures from the government. The goal of this amendment is to
protect the people from the government; but what about protecting the people from the people? If
a criminal runs through the home of another person, should the police have to obtain a warrant to
enter that home or can they follow the hot pursuit through the strangers’ home and possibly
observe criminal behavior? There is a balance that must be found between protecting the people,
and violating their constitutionally given rights to privacy.

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Emerging technology is giving the criminal justice system a hard time as well. Should
police be able to search a cell phone when a person was pulled over for speeding or should they
need a warrant? What if the suspect appeared to have just taken drugs or killed someone, does
that make a difference? The fourth amendment has been around for a long time and has been
interpreted by judges in different ways throughout the years; the changing views of the public
and the practices of the police are highly influenced by these decisions made in court and can
mean the difference between capturing a murderer and letting him walk. Making these decisions
in cooperation with public view is an important step in strengthening the bond of our police and
our citizens. In the best circumstances, the people would feel safe from criminal action because
of police work, and the law-abiding-citizens would not feel invaded by the police in an
unreasonable way.

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References
Bill of Rights is finally ratified. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bill-of-rights-is-finally-ratified
Exclusionary Rule. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exclusionary_rule
Ferdico, J., & Fradella, H. (2013). Individual Rights Under the United States Constitution. In
Criminal procedure for the criminal justice professional (11th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Masters, R. (2013). Legal and Special Issues in Policing. In CJ: Realities and challenges (2nd
ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
The Declaration of Independence. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/