Roman Cech’s Practicum 1

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.

This is how the Fourth Amendment begins, as it is listed in the Constitution. this is one of our most important amendments regarding being secure in criminal proceedings, as it is designed to stop open-ended searches and reasonless invasions of your home. Yet something interesting has happened in our country; as technology and social life have grown to include new items, the Constitution has lagged behind and protected those same items. Now that technology has progressed further than the Constitution extends, there is a dilemma in the court system whether to include digital Data in the Fourth Amendment or whether the government should ignore what is considered personal data in this day and age and, in effect, skip over the spirit of the Fourth Amendment. This video shows what happens when the Fourth Amendment is not extended to digital information and records. In all criminal allegations, regardless of your viewpoint on the crime being committed, the accused has the right to privacy and reasonable suspicion before obtaining a warrant. Yet in a case like this, messages were obtained without a warrant, something that in any of the stated parts of the Fourth Amendment would cause widespread outcry and result in the case being thrown out. A healthy Constitution needs to grow and evolve as time changes. our founders left the Constitution as open-ended as possible to provide for the ability to change it in the future, yet today, we have courts who say that only the things listed at the time of the signing of the Constitution are valid. Our founders would want us to have a functioning Constitution and amendments that protect its citizens in every new facet of life.

1. Why is it important to be shielded from unnecessary searches and seizures of property?
2. What were some of the key factors that the founding fathers took into consideration when they crafted the Fourth Amendment? Give a minimum of two reasons.
3. How should the Constitution be updated to reflect the changes that have sprung forth from social and technological changes?
4. Find what the equivalent of the Fourth Amendment would be in the British Magna Carta, and what similarities can you find between the two?
5. Do you believe that the right to be secure in your belongings extends to a right of privacy? Give a brief answer on why or why not and make sure to include a source to back your opinion up.

I think that taking the time to complete the assignment helps me find a real life example of what we’re trying to learn in this class. I think this assignment could be used in the future, the right to privacy is a hotly debated topic and any one person can give you multiple answers depending on how you phrase the question.