4.3 Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. It requires a balance between individual privacy and public safety, setting rules for when and how law enforcement can conduct searches, obtain warrants, and use evidence in court.

This topic explores key concepts like probable cause, warrant requirements, and exceptions to the warrant rule. It also covers modern issues like electronic surveillance and drug testing, showing how Fourth Amendment principles apply in various contexts.

Reasonableness requirement

• The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials
• Reasonableness is determined by balancing the individual's privacy interests against the government's need to conduct the search or seizure
• Courts consider factors such as the nature of the intrusion, the government's justification, and the scope of the search or seizure

Searches vs seizures

Defining searches

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• A search occurs when the government intrudes upon an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy
• This includes physical searches of persons, property, or effects, as well as electronic surveillance and data collection
• The Supreme Court has recognized that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes, vehicles, and personal effects

Defining seizures

• A seizure occurs when the government meaningfully interferes with an individual's possessory interests in property
• This includes taking physical possession of property, as well as asserting control over it in a way that restricts the owner's use
• Seizures also occur when the government detains an individual, even briefly, through physical force or a show of authority

Warrant requirement

Probable cause for warrants

• A warrant is a court order authorizing a search or seizure
• To obtain a warrant, law enforcement must demonstrate probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched
• Probable cause requires more than mere suspicion, but does not require certainty or a preponderance of the evidence

Particularity of warrants

• Warrants must particularly describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized
• This requirement prevents general searches and ensures that the scope of the search is limited to the specific evidence sought
• Warrants that are overbroad or lack particularity may be deemed invalid

Exceptions to warrant requirement

Exigent circumstances

• Exigent circumstances exist when there is an immediate need to act, such as to prevent the destruction of evidence or to protect public safety
• In these situations, law enforcement may conduct a warrantless search or seizure if they have probable cause and there is no time to obtain a warrant
• Examples include hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect or responding to an emergency call for help

Plain view doctrine

• The plain view doctrine allows law enforcement to seize evidence without a warrant if it is in plain view during a lawful observation
• The officer must have a legal right to be in the place from which the evidence is viewed, and the incriminating nature of the evidence must be immediately apparent
• Examples include contraband or weapons visible in a vehicle during a traffic stop

Consent searches

• Individuals may voluntarily consent to a search of their person, property, or effects, waiving their Fourth Amendment rights
• Consent must be freely and voluntarily given, and not the result of coercion or duress
• The scope of the search is limited to the specific areas or items for which consent is given
• Individuals may withdraw their consent at any time during the search

Searches incident to arrest

• When an individual is lawfully arrested, law enforcement may conduct a warrantless search of the person and the immediate surrounding area
• This exception is justified by the need to protect officer safety and prevent the destruction of evidence
• The search must be contemporaneous with the arrest and limited in scope to the arrestee's person and the area within their immediate control

Automobile exception

• The automobile exception allows law enforcement to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle if they have probable cause to believe it contains evidence of a crime
• This exception is based on the reduced expectation of privacy in vehicles and their mobility, which makes obtaining a warrant impractical
• The search may extend to any part of the vehicle where the evidence might reasonably be found, including containers within the vehicle

Stop and frisk

• The stop and frisk exception allows law enforcement to briefly detain an individual based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and conduct a limited pat-down search for weapons
• Reasonable suspicion is a lower standard than probable cause and requires specific, articulable facts that suggest criminal activity is afoot
• The frisk must be limited to a pat-down of the outer clothing for weapons and may not extend to a search for evidence

Exclusionary rule

• The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy that prohibits the use of evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches and seizures
• The rule is designed to deter police misconduct and protect individual rights by removing the incentive to violate the Fourth Amendment
• Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is generally inadmissible in criminal trials, subject to certain exceptions

Fruit of poisonous tree

• The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extends the exclusionary rule to evidence that is derived from an unconstitutional search or seizure
• This includes physical evidence discovered as a result of the illegal search, as well as witness testimony or confessions obtained through the exploitation of the illegally obtained evidence
• The taint of the initial illegality may be purged if the evidence is discovered through an independent source or if the connection between the illegality and the evidence is sufficiently attenuated

Good faith exception

• The good faith exception allows the admission of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment if the officers acted in objectively reasonable reliance on a warrant, statute, or binding judicial precedent
• This exception recognizes that the exclusionary rule's deterrent purpose is not served by punishing officers who act in good faith, even if their actions are later deemed unconstitutional
• The good faith exception does not apply if the warrant was so lacking in probable cause that no reasonable officer would have relied on it, or if the officer's reliance was not objectively reasonable

Standing to challenge searches

• To invoke the exclusionary rule and challenge the admissibility of evidence, an individual must have standing to assert a Fourth Amendment violation
• Standing requires that the individual have a personal expectation of privacy in the place searched or the property seized
• Generally, only the person whose rights were violated has standing to challenge the search or seizure
• Exceptions to standing include situations where the defendant has a possessory interest in the property seized or where a third party's rights were violated in a way that directly affects the defendant's case

Technology and privacy

Wiretapping and electronic surveillance

• The Fourth Amendment applies to electronic surveillance, including wiretapping and the interception of electronic communications
• The Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act regulate the use of electronic surveillance by law enforcement and require a court order based on probable cause
• The Supreme Court has recognized a reasonable expectation of privacy in the content of telephone conversations and emails, but not in the metadata associated with those communications (such as phone numbers dialed or email addresses)

Thermal imaging and aerial surveillance

• The use of technology to gather information about the interior of a home, such as thermal imaging devices, constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment and requires a warrant
• Aerial surveillance of a home's curtilage (the area immediately surrounding the home) may also constitute a search if it reveals intimate details of the home that would not be observable from public airspace
• The Supreme Court has held that individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in activities that are clearly visible from public airspace, such as the cultivation of crops in an open field

Border searches and checkpoints

• The government has broad authority to conduct searches at the border and at functional equivalents of the border, such as international airports
• Routine border searches, including the search of vehicles and personal effects, may be conducted without a warrant, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion
• Non-routine border searches, such as strip searches or prolonged detentions, require at least reasonable suspicion of criminal activity
• The Supreme Court has upheld the use of checkpoints for limited purposes, such as sobriety checkpoints or immigration checkpoints, as long as they are conducted in a neutral and non-discriminatory manner

Administrative searches

Regulated industries

• Certain heavily regulated industries, such as liquor sales or firearms dealing, are subject to warrantless administrative searches as a condition of participating in the industry
• These searches must be authorized by statute, serve a substantial government interest, and be limited in scope to the specific regulatory purpose
• Participants in these industries have a reduced expectation of privacy due to the pervasive regulation of their activities

Health and safety inspections

• Government officials may conduct warrantless inspections of homes or businesses for health and safety purposes, such as fire code compliance or restaurant sanitation
• These inspections must be authorized by statute, serve a significant government interest, and be limited in scope to the specific health and safety concerns
• The Supreme Court has upheld such inspections as long as they are not used as a pretext for criminal investigation and are conducted in a reasonable manner

Drug testing and bodily privacy

• The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of the person, including bodily intrusions such as blood tests or urinalysis
• Government-mandated drug testing constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment and generally requires individualized suspicion, such as probable cause or reasonable suspicion
• The Supreme Court has upheld suspicionless drug testing in limited circumstances, such as for certain safety-sensitive government jobs or for student athletes, based on the government's special needs beyond normal law enforcement

School searches

• Students in public schools have reduced expectations of privacy due to the school's responsibility to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment
• School officials may conduct searches of students or their property based on reasonable suspicion of a violation of school rules or the law
• The legality of a school search depends on the reasonableness of the search under all the circumstances, considering factors such as the nature of the infraction, the age and sex of the student, and the intrusiveness of the search
• The Supreme Court has upheld suspicionless drug testing of student athletes and participants in competitive extracurricular activities, but has struck down policies requiring suspicionless drug testing of all students