“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 acts as an addition to the core values of the Third Amendment, especially because it continues the discussion on privacy and how citizens must have the right to maintain control over their own lives without government intervention. The Fourth Amendment speaks more to the violation of privacy without just cause or evidence. Its main purpose is to protect citizens from the immense power that the government holds and make sure that the system does not violate the rules it has put in place itself. But then certain questions are posed that challenge this amendment such as, what if a violation of privacy leads to the improvement of or the saving of someone’s life, even the protection of not only one citizen, but many? Can a breech in privacy be ever justified?
A landmark Supreme Court case that debated the core issues of the Fourth Amendment was Muehler vs. Mena from 2005. Mena, the respondent in the case said her Fourth Amendment rights had been violated when police searched her house, with a warrant, and had handcuffed her and others during the search. Mena claimed that the officers had violated her right to be free, not handcuffed, during an unreasonable seizure. The officers also questioned Mena and others about their immigration status and Mena stated that violated her rights as well. Originally, lower courts had ruled in favor of Mena, but a different verdict was reached at the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision the court ruled against Mena and overturned previous court decisions, which had said Mena’s Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. The Supreme Court said that if officers have a search warrant they have the right to arrest and detain suspects, or people of interest surrounding the warrant in order to reduce threats against the officers. They held that the warrant allowed for just seizure of suspects and that the questioning of their immigration status was also valid and a part of the investigation.
So, contrary to other posts, the case presented here shows how the Supreme Court overturned a decision in order to stay in line with the Bill of Rights and more specifically the Fourth Amendment. Here, I do believe that the court was indeed protecting our rights, not hindering them. You cannot express your rights in such a way that they then begin to infringe upon the rights and safety of others—i.e. the cops have a right to detain suspects during a warranted search in order to protect themselves and those involved. The justice system has a duty to the American People to protect the rights of all its citizens, and regardless of whether you personally believe that it achieves that or not, there will always be a gray zone, where all those involved will not be completely happy with how the situation turns out, but under the law it is fair.
Websites:
https://books.google.com/books?id=-_QVsS_MKGoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=fourth+amendment&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic2vqh97LPAhVCPCYKHQ7CCA8Q6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=fourth%20amendment&f=false
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2004/03-1423
Hall & Oates song–“Private Eyes”
Chorus:
They’re watching you
They see your every move
Private Eyes
They’re watching you
Private Eyes
They’re watching you watching you watching you watching you