Welcome to Week 4!

The Fourth Amendment: An Overview of Constitutional Searches and Seizures

The Fourth Amendment forbids unreasonable searches and seizures and requires that any search or arrest warrant be based on probable cause. If a person is an employee of any governmental agency or is an agent of the government in any capacity, then that person is bound by the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment does not apply to private parties.

The reasonableness clause of the Fourth Amendment makes warrantless searches and seizures valid and constitutional when they are sensible. The Constitution does not provide an absolute right to be free from government intrusion, only unreasonable interference.

Learning Objectives

Understand what the Fourth Amendment forbids and requires.
Know who is governed by the Fourth Amendment.
Explain how probable cause relates to searches and arrests.
Identify the one requirement of all search and arrest warrants.
Clarify what a stop and frisk are and when each is permitted.
Summarize what the Terry decision established.
Outline what the exclusionary rule is, the precedent case for it, and what primary purpose it serves.