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."

Ginsberg et al. (page 140) quote the Supreme Court's summary of their understanding of the Fourth Amendment from the case Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128 (1990):

A search compromises the individual interest in privacy;
a seizure deprives the individual of dominion over his or her person or property.

Comments by Nate Segal

At first glance, I had trouble seeing why the Framers of our Constitution wrote this amendment. I've lived my life oblivious of any of these issues.

I've never had a run in with the police. I can't remember that law enforcement officials ever entered anywhere I lived until recently (by invitation). I was born in 1951, so my memory covers a broad swath of American life, not without turmoil and strife.

I grew up as a privileged white male in a privileged suburb of Chicago. Of course these issues never affected me.

What were the Framers thinking?

As I wrote before regarding the Second Amendment, it seems to me that the Framers of our Constitution and this Amendment wanted to prevent the government abuses that they suffered from the King of Great Britain.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

". . . the present King of Great-Britain . . ."

• "HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
• "HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
• "HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices . . ."

Now, I'm seeing the Fourth Amendment with a deeper understanding from current events. Providentially, life in Iran has been in the news. I want to call attention to how the present Iranian regime maintains its hold on power. The enforcement of the will of the clerics is by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The Associated Press calls the Revolutionary Guard,

an elite force that was created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend Iran's clerical rule.

The Revolutionary Guard's forces have been accused of violently suppressing protests following the disputed June elections.

(The Kansas City Star, "Guard Has Telecom Stake", Monday, September 28, 2009, page A10)

Iran's Revolutionary Guard intrudes anywhere and anytime it decides to.

There has never been a "Revolutionary Guard" in the United States. The Founders gave the federal government limited law enforcement power. Based on Article II of the Constitution, the President (Executive Branch) and Congress have struggled to remain coequals appointing and regulating the powers of officers of the United States.

The Fourth Amendment vividly clarifies the limited degree that law enforcement may intrude in our lives so that there can never legally be a secret or special police in America.