IV Amendment: Unlawful Search and Seizure

The first ten amendments to the constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. About two thirds of the Bill of Rights is geared toward protecting individual's rights in a criminal proceeding. While the Bill of Rights were established 1791, they have changed over the course of time. The Supreme Court rulings have helped to shape the Bill of Rights into what we now know them to be.

As I mentioned above two thirds of the Bill of Rights are geared toward protecting individual's rights and the IV Amendment is one of those. The IV Amendment protects us against unlawful search and seizure. The way that it protects us has not always been the way that we know it to be now. I will get more into explaining the IV Amendment as it is now a little later. Let me first show you how this Amendment has changed due to Supreme Court rulings.

The Supreme Court has ruled than any evidence that unlawfully obtained by police must be excluded from court. This is known as the exclusionary rule and it was in 1914 that this rule was first applied. In 1914 Weeks vs. United States, the Supreme Court had for the first time applied the exclusionary rule to federal court cases. This meant that at this time unless your case was tried in a federal court than any evidence could be used against you. This changed in 1961 in Mapp vs. Ohio. The Supreme Court finally ruled applying the exclusionary rule to state court cases as well.

With modern day understanding of the IV Amendment, we are protected from our homes and property being invaded by the police or other government officials. A police officer cannot come into your home and obtain evidence against you without your consent or a search warrant issued by a judge. When a search warrant is issued, the police may only obtain evidence and search in areas that are within the scope of the search warrant. Any evidence obtained without a search warrant or that is not within the scope of the warrant will fall under the exclusionary rule.

As well, there are other areas where the exclusionary rule also applies. If you have obtained counsel and the police, come and talk with you without counsel present anything you tell them may fall under this rule also. For example during your conversation with the police without your counsel, present (this is if you have already obtained counsel in a different matter or this matter) and you tell them you killed a person and they are buried at such and such place. The police then go and find the body; your attorney may get that body ruled under the exclusionary rule. The reason being is your counsel was not there to represent you and all things found against you become the "fruit from the poisoned tree".

The above are not way for you to get away with committing a crime. They are explained so that you understand your rights given to you by the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Due Process of the law.