Malcolm Rivera
The original text of the Constitution contained very few provisions protecting individual rights. However, the Fourth Amendment protects against 'search and seizure', which typically occurs in a criminal case, with a subsequent attempt to use judicially what was seized. The Amendment also protects an individual's expectation of privacy, as seen in Katz v. United States, where the Court held that what a person seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. This was further demonstrated in Kyllo v. United States, where the Court invalidated the warrantless use of a thermal imaging device directed at a private home from a public street. Additionally, the laws of England, as referenced in the Constitution, consider any invasion of private property, no matter how small, to be a trespass.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Private property | The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of private property. |
| Privacy | The Fourth Amendment protects against government intrusion into areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. |
| Individual rights | The Constitution contains provisions protecting individual rights, such as the right to habeas corpus. |
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The Fourth Amendment
The framers of the Constitution included the Fourth Amendment to protect individual rights. They believed that the central government they had created would have limited powers and would not have the authority to violate individual rights.
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Search and seizure
The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that the government cannot physically intrude on an individual's private property without a warrant. This protection extends to areas that are accessible to the public, as long as the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. For example, in *Katz v. United States*, the Court held that the warrantless use of a thermal imaging device directed at a private home from a public street violated the Fourth Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment typically applies in criminal cases, where evidence has been seized and there is an attempt to use it judicially. The Amendment protects individuals' interests from official abuse, and their property from trespass.
In *Jones v. United States*, the Court found that the attachment of a GPS device to a car represented a physical intrusion into Jones's constitutionally protected private property. This case also raised the issue of long-term GPS tracking and whether this can violate an individual's expectation of privacy. The Court held that while government access to a small data set might not violate privacy, aggregating a month's worth of personal data does allow the government to create a "mosaic" about an individual's personal life, which violates their reasonable expectation of privacy.
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Privacy
The original text of the Constitution contained very few provisions protecting individual rights. This was likely because some of the framers believed that they had created a central government with limited powers that would not have the authority to violate individual rights. However, the Fourth Amendment does protect against 'search and seizure' and the Court has relied on the theory of common law trespass to find that the attachment of a device to a car represents a physical intrusion into an individual's constitutionally protected 'effect' or private property.
The test, propounded in Katz v. United States, is whether there is an expectation of privacy upon which one may 'justifiably' rely. The Court has held that what a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in their own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. However, what they seek to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. Katz's focus on privacy was revitalised in Kyllo v. United States, in which the Court invalidated the warrantless use of a thermal imaging device directed at a private home from a public street.
The Court has also held that by the laws of England, every invasion of private property, however small, is a trespass.
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Private property
The original text of the Constitution contained very few provisions protecting individual rights. Some framers believed that they had created a central government with limited powers that would not have the authority to violate individual rights. Others feared that any list of enumerated rights might be incomplete and might later be interpreted to deny rights not listed.
However, the Fourth Amendment protects the right to privacy and freedom from governmental intrusion. The Fourth Amendment applies to a particular set of facts, there must be a "search" and a "seizure", occurring typically in a criminal case, with a subsequent attempt to use judicially what was seized. The Amendment protects against the invasion of private property, which is considered a trespass. The right to privacy is preserved in all instances where it has not been taken away or abridged by some public law for the good of the whole.
The Katz v. United States case established the test of whether there is an expectation of privacy upon which one may "justifiably" rely. The Court ruled that what a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in their own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. However, what they seek to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. This focus on privacy was revitalised in Kyllo v. United States, where the Court invalidated the warrantless use of a thermal imaging device directed at a private home from a public street.
In another case, Entick v. Carrington, Lord Camden wrote: "The great end for which men entered in society was to secure their property". This highlights the importance of protecting private property rights and ensuring that individuals' interests are not infringed upon by the government.
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Individual rights
The original text of the Constitution contained very few provisions protecting individual rights. Some framers believed that the central government they had created would not have the authority to violate individual rights, while others feared that any list of enumerated rights might be incomplete and might later be interpreted to deny rights not listed.
One of the few provisions protecting individual rights is Article I, Section 9, which provides that "the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public safety may require it".
The Fourth Amendment also protects individual rights. For the Fourth Amendment to apply, there must be a "search" and a "seizure", typically in a criminal case, with a subsequent attempt to use judicially what was seized. Whether there was a search and seizure within the meaning of the Amendment, and whether a complainant’s interests were constitutionally infringed, will often turn upon consideration of his interest and whether it was officially abused.
The Fourth Amendment also protects an individual's expectation of privacy. In Katz v. United States, the Court found that what a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. However, what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. This was revitalised in Kyllo v. United States, where the Court invalidated the warrantless use of a thermal imaging device directed at a private home from a public street.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fourth Amendment protects individuals' privacy and property.
This means that individuals have a right to privacy in their own homes and offices, and that the government cannot intrude without justifiable reason.
The Fourth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that long-term GPS tracking can violate an individual's expectation of privacy, as it allows the government to create a "mosaic" of personal data.
The Fourth Amendment also protects private property, and any invasion of this property, no matter how small, is considered a trespass.
