Focus on the Founding: the Fourth Amendment

Another of a series of articles on the intent of the Founding Fathers with respect to our rights, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on those enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

First, from one of the most important Founders, Thomas Jefferson:

"On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution:

"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 amendment was a very important one at the time, and remains so today, though enough time has passed that we no longer understand the full ccatalyst behind it.

It was a direct response to the tactics the British Crown used on colonists, mostly without any probable cause, to search for various infractions of the law. These violations were fresh in the minds of the Framers when they wrote the Constitution and was a driving force in the creation of the Bill of Rights.

"Every man's house is his castle." It is a British term, of course, the US not having any castles to speak of, but the history of this concept can be traced there. Which is ironic, since they were in gross violation of the principle here. There are several important English case laws, including Semayne's Case, which recognized "if thieves come to a man's house to rob him, or murder, and the owner or his servants kill any of the thieves in defence of himself and his house it is not felony, and he shall lose nothing" and that this applied to the unlawful acts of criminals and the police. Another, Entick v. Carrington, helped establish the requirement for probable cause in search and seizure, among others.

John Adams stated; "Each individual of the society has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to standing laws. He is obliged, consequently, to contribute his share to the expense of this protection; and to give his personal service, or an equivalent, when necessary. But no part of the property of any individual can, with justice, be taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. In fine, the people of this commonwealth are not controllable by any other laws than those to which their constitutional representative body have given their consent. "

The fourth amendment is an important one. Not as important as the first, and certainly not as important as the second, but it is still a vital part of our freedoms, and one that should not be given up lightly, even in the slightest amount. For it may be too late to recover it should we waver.