Civil Rights Information Center
Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure
The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by governmental authorities. This means that there are limits on when and how the police can search your home, for instance, and take evidence. It does not mean, however, that all searches and seizures are illegal. An experienced attorney from Law Offices of John L. Burris in Oakland, California, can advise you on whether your rights have been violated.
What Does "Search and Seizure" Mean?
In the US, we are afforded a reasonable expectation of privacy. Searches and seizures of our persons, papers, possessions, homes and other property, therefore, must be reasonable if they are to be legal.
A search is the examination of something that a person would normally consider private. The law enforcement officer or other official who conducts the search must have probable cause to do it.
It is not always necessary for the person conducting the search to have a warrant. If an officer makes an arrest, for example, he can search the arrestee's clothing for weapons in order to protect himself.
An illegal search occurs when a police officer does not have probable cause to conduct the search. A police officer may not conduct a search of a home because he or she has a "hunch" about what is inside. If your person or property has been illegally searched, then your constitutional rights have been violated.
When a private person obtains an item in a search and then turns it over to the police, it does not matter if the search would have been illegal if an officer had conducted it. The evidence is admissible in court as long as an officer did not influence the private person's search.
A seizure is the actual taking of a person's property. This taking is usually for purposes of criminal investigation and prosecution. The government does not necessarily take the property for good; it may be returned to its original owner. It is not a seizure only when a police officer takes an item as evidence; it is also a seizure when a police officer holds a person who reasonably believes that he or she is not free to leave.
Typically, evidence that is illegally seized by an officer may not be used in court. These matters are decided on a case-by-case basis, however, and numerous factors influence the outcome. In addition to the Constitution's Fourth Amendment on searches and seizures, states have their own laws. Speak with an attorney in your state to learn how the law applies to your situation.
What Are Search Warrants, and Who Issues Them?
Search warrants are documents serving as proof that the police have been given explicit permission to search a specific place in order to look for a specific person or item. To obtain a warrant, a police officer must attest to the fact that there is good reason to believe that the person or property will be found at the place the police want to look. This is probable cause — the police officer's reasonable belief that a search of the target property will turn up the object of the search. The basis of the officer's belief does not have to turn out to be true.
There are circumstances in which the police do not need a warrant. These exceptional cases most often arise out of the urgent need of the police to investigate some matter.
Contact an Attorney
The law on search and seizure is quite complex. If you believe that your Fourth Amendment rights have been violated, speak with an attorney from Law Offices of John L. Burris in Oakland, California.
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