Applications Of The 4th Ammendment Given Two Case Laws (Essay Sample)

The 4th Amendment
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The 4th Amendment
According to the U.S Constitution, the fourth amendment gives the citizens’ rights to be secure in their houses and protects them from unreasonable seizures and searches (Galiano, 2011). The law provides that there should be a valid search warrant for a person to be searched. Therefore, every American citizen has a right to privacy and enjoy exceptional civil rights based on the amendment. However, police officers have an obligation to search and seizure property with or without a search warrant under particular outlined circumstances. A written order that permits police to hunt for specific materials or objects at a particular location is referred to as a search warrant (Galiano, 2011). Several requirements such as having a convincing probable cause are necessary for magistrates to issue search warrants to police officers. Therefore, this paper will discuss how the 4th amendment applies to police entry into a person's home. Also, the essay will highlight the requirements for the police to obtain a search warrant as well as the circumstances under which police can enter a private residence without a warrant. Finally, the paper will discuss on a case scenario which requires an application of the 4th amendment.
Despite the fact that the fourth amendment prevents citizens from unreasonable seizures and searches, the police officers have a right as obligated by the Constitution, to enter into a person's home with or without a warrant depending on certain circumstances. According to the Supreme Court rulings, officers are obligated to obtain a search warrant which specifies the time and the place of search within a certain home. On the same note, the officers have a right to enter a home without a warrant due to various circumstances. For example, they can search a home without a warrant under the consent of the owner or in the case of 911 emergency call (Konwinski, 2013). Additionally, most of the Supreme courts restrict police search to particular homicide crime acts without a search warrant. Therefore, the fourth amendment applies police entry into homes through outlining the necessity of obtaining a search warrant as well as the court outlined circumstances under which an officer can enter a home without a warrant.
Notably, there are various requirements for the police to obtain a warrant to search a home. The officers need to have a convincing probable cause that outlines that criminal activity is happening at the described search place or the crime evidence will be found at the specified search place. The police officers provide the magistrate or the judge with information in a written statement form under oath usually called affidavits. The affidavit contains data report based on police observation, private citizen observation or information from police informants. Remarkably, the police officer must specify the items to be seized and the places to be searched in the affidavit. On the same note, the magistrate issues a search warrant if he/she believes that the testimony establishes a probable cause in which a search can be conducted. Therefore, for a police officer to obtain a search warrant information presenting probable cause is necessary.
Remarkably, police officers can enter a home without a search warrant under particular circumstances. Firstly, an officer can search a home without a warrant under the consent of the owner (Morrow, 2010). The person in control of a property may voluntarily and freely agree to be searched without being tricked or coerced in to accepting the quest by the police. However, an individual has right to refuse seizure and search. Similarly, plain view doctrine exempts search without a warrant. The exemption applies when the police officer has evidence that is visible. For example, if an officer sees illegal items through the house window or criminal acts happening outside a person's house, a search can be carried out without a warrant. Probable cause that the items are illegal must be provided. On the same note, officers can search without a warrant in the case of arrest incident. For instance, if a person is arrested for a criminal act, police officers have the right to search for weapons or other accessories to safeguard their safety. The activity is known as the protective sweep. Also, exigent circumstances allow police search without a warrant (Morrow, 2010). The incident occurs during emergency situations whereby the process of obtaining a valid permit would result in evidence loss or endanger public safety.
Based on the case scenario of Mary Ellis, the police have the right to enter her home without warrant legally. According to the Supreme Court ruling, police officers have the right to enter private homes without a warrant in the case of an emergency such as 911 telephone call (Konwinski, 2013). Based on Stricker v. Twp. Of Cambridge, case No. 11-1998, it is clear that police officers do not require a search warrant when responding to a 911 call made on behalf of a wounded individual. Furthermore, the police can search the house for the origin of the medical emergency. Therefore, the police could have entered Mary Ellis home without a search warrant sin...