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.

The purpose of Amendment IV is clearly stated as a right of the people to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. A citizen may not be searched, nor may their houses be searched, nor their papers and belongings be searched without a warrant. A warrant will not be issued without: (1) probable cause. Arresting authorities must have support showing that the person has committed a crime and is hiding evidence of the crime, (2) that witnesses swear under oath to know that the evidence is being held by the person, or hidden in the house, or revealed within the paper or other belongings of the suspected citizen; or that there is credible substantiating evidence of the crime. Furthermore the warrant must describe where the search is to take place and identify the person or objects to be searched.

In summary, a citizen should be free from being searched unless a warrant is issued for a search that contains clear certainty, corroborated by witnesses under oath or substantiating evidence, that the suspected citizen is withholding proof of a crime, where the confirming evidence is contained, and what may be searched.

Among other things Amendment Four protects citizens from random searches conducted without cause or carried out merely because of suspicion, and it protects citizens from having evidence planted upon them, or in their houses, or papers, or personal effects. Furthermore, the fourth amendment protects citizens from being singled out and searched because of prejudice, profiling, and circumstantial evidence.

In recent years, the president and the current administration has been willing, after taking their oath to uphold The Constitution of The United States of America, to break the spirit and the letter of the fourth amendment under the pretext of national security. Ironically, breaking the amendment undermines our Constitution while giving Terrorists both opportunity and conditions for those who want to destroy the greatest possibility for freedom on earth.

People who think giving up our privacy to preserve our country is the thing to do, don’t understand the fundamental purpose of a government designed to uphold freedom, nor the natural rights of men and women. Terrorist win when we give away our freedoms.