Created by Lorena Espinoza U.S History Bill of Rights

Amendment IV 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.

Passed by Congress on September 25th, 1789 Ratified on December 15th, 1791 Often referred to as “Search and Seizure”

What it provides Equal privacy for everyone Police can’t search you without permission or a warrant UNLESS they have a very good reason Protects people from unreasonable searches but only those deemed unreasonable under the law

Are we being cheated from our rights? Most people tend to associate this amendment with our right not to have specifically our homes searched without permission but it actually applies to so much more, and since people aren’t aware that it actually protects more than they think, sometimes we get cheated from it Police/government officials will abuse their power if they know you don’t know they’re not supposed to search you in someplace other than your home

What does it apply to?? Possessions/Property Home Car Business Purse Clothes Body Personal information Doctor’s files Other confidential information

Why was it included? The Founding Fathers wanted to protect the rights of the individuals Did not want the government to abuse its power The British officials were allowed to enter and search the homes of the colonists even if the owner was against it Intrusive on the privacy of the colonists

Controversial issues TODAY Government Surveillance Using technology to access massive amounts of information on Americans The government recently violated the 4th amendment when they put a GPS tracker on a man named Antoine Jones’ car & tracked his movements continuously for a month First time the Supreme Court has had to revise the legality of tracking people with technology Decision could potentially stop cell phone tracking without warrants as well

https://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/supreme-court-rules-government-violated-privacy-rights-gps-tracking-case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZWWhYpu4qg

Current Events Man wins trial by enforcing his right in the 4th amendment when he refused to go through airport security x-ray machines http://www.wired.com/2013/01/4th-amendment-chest-trial/ Petition to stop mass surveillance by government http://www.change.org/p/eu-leaders-stop-mass-surveillance

Personal Opinion Unconstitutional for the government to track everything we do or say without permission Secrecy is violating our civil rights They don’t want to tell us they’re spying on us, so they just do it without a warrant or good reason to Founding Fathers created the 4th amendment for protecting our privacy and individual rights and our government isn’t being honorable by doing the exact thing we want to prevent

More Information http://www.thensavideo.com/ The video is basically saying that our government is starting to become too powerful, and is abusing their power by spying on us. It is informing us about what is happening so we can do something about it and stop the violation of our privacy

What if we didn’t have it? Police/Gov. Officials could raid our homes whenever they wanted to for no reason Use their power to unrightfully search us & nothing would be done about it Too much power given to gov. and not enough given to the people Government abuse their power and invade our privacy No one would feel safe in their own homes Scared of the government Colonists would have no voice to stop them

Scenario Let’s say you’re driving home after a long day of work and a cop pulls you over and wants to search you and your car for drugs.

Is this okay? Yes: IF you are driving recklessly and he/she has reason to believe you might be under the influence ( a good reason ) OTHERWISE……. No: IF you are abiding by the law, and he/she only pulled you over based on your looks or because they don’t like you for whatever reason. (Just because they want to)

Compare & Contrast Then: colonists were oppressed with the “writs of assistance” used by the British soldiers. Gave them power to carry out searches in shops, warehouses, and private homes Didn’t need to have a good reason or any evidence to conduct these searches Colonists felt like their homes were no longer their “castles” Soldiers were reckless with the property and belongings of the colonists

Compare & Contrast Now: privacy of the people is protected, and although police/soldiers can still search your home without your consent they must have either a warrant or a very good reason to search you (must be deemed as reasonable by law) if this right is violated, the person can take their case to courts This right cannot be taken away from us

Works Cited References Retrieved from http://www.change.org/p/eu-leaders-stop-mass-surveillance Bill of Rights Institute: Bill of Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/ Fourth Amendment - Why It Was Created. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://firstclass.rfsd.k12.co.us/~mschneiter/fad/amendment_four_created.htm The NSA Video. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thensavideo.com/ The Rutherford Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rutherford.org/constitutional_corner/amendment_iv_searches_seizures_and_warrants/ Supreme Court Rules Government Violated Privacy Rights in GPS Tracking Case | American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty/supreme-court-rules-government-violated-privacy-rights-gps-tracking-case What Does the Fourth Amendment Mean? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/constitution-activities/fourth-amendment/fourth-amendment-mean.aspx