Privacy and Freedom essays

Privacy and Freedom essays The Fourth Amendment search and seizure is mainly about privacy, and has been implemented to protect against unreasonable searches and seizures by State or Federal law enforcement agencies. This amendment has been changed many times to suit the needs of the people. There are unlawful searches going on every day by sheriffs, police officers, undercover agents and other city officials. Some of those are searching cars, mobile homes, trash cans and even cell phones that are meant to be conducted with consent. The Fourth Amendment states that: 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. The Fourth Amendment can be broken down into three sections, first is to provide protection for a person, their home and belongings, second, to prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures, and thirdly, warrants must be based on probable cause and specifically describe as to what must be seized. These guidelines set in our U.S. Constitution are constantly challenged and regularly broken. In the case of Spinelli v. United States (1968) agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were issued a search warrant to assist in uncovering evidence of defendant William Spinelli, who was suspected of conducting illegal gambling activities. FBI agents stated the defendant was known to "local law enforcement officials as a bookmaker." The agents later stated they "had been informed by a confidential informant that William Spinelli is operating a handbook and accepting wagers and disseminating wagering information by means of the telephones." These agents were granted a search warrant fo r Mr. Spinelli's property on the testimony of one single man, with no true evidenc ...