What government conduct is regulated by the Fourth Amendment?
Right of the people…against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated…
(Except for probable cause, supported by oath, a warrant describing the place/things to be searched)
This means that all search/seizure must be reasonable (correct level of suspicion compared with actions)
What are the requirements imposed by the Fourth Amendment?
- All searches and seizures must be reasonable
- They must be conducted with a warrant based on PC or an established exception
Reasonable = PC + warrant
Or
Reasonable = PC + Court established warrant exception
What is the Constitutional Analysis of the 4th Amendment?
- Does the proposed conduct constitute a 4th Amendment seizure? (Does it even meet the definition)
- If yes, is there a warrant, or a recognized exception to the warrant or probably cause requirement?
- What level of suspicion is required to make the search or seizure constitutionally reasonable?
- What statutory or policy restrictions impact upon the conduct and how do those restrictions impact the operations?
What does it mean that a search/seizure is “reasonable”?
It is a commonly accepted term/standard that compares the agent’s “level of suspicion” (how certain the agent is that a violation of law has occurred) they had when they initiated the search or seizure to their conduct
Level of suspicion vs conduct
