Introduction
According to the ACLU, In the 1700s, two Virginians drafted the Bill of Rights as an addition to the Constitution after Anti-Federalists wanted more security about their rights as citizens. They had been recently freed from an oppressive totalitarian British government and did not wish to repeat the experience. After a few drafts, the final one was ratified and became an official part of the Constitution. (ACLU) This Constitution and its Bill of Rights still exist today as law and the US government which this Constitution created are still expected to abide by it just like it did hundreds of years ago. One of these rights in the Bill of Rights is called the fourth amendment. It says that “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.” (U.S. Const., am. 4) Later on, since sometimes the government does not obey it’s own rules, Judicial Review was created to insure that this right and all the others will actually be protected. Any person can challenge some action by the government that they feel has violated this right of theirs and take it to a court and the court will rule if that action by the government will have violated or followed the amendment. The Supreme Court has two options when this happens they can either create exceptions to this amendment, or uphold it. Over the years, the Supreme Court has created many exceptions to your fourth amendment right. For instance, in 1925 in a case called Carroll v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that cars do not get the same protection under the fourth amendment and can be searched simply with reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed. Then in 1968, in a case called Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled that police can legally stop a person if they have a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed or is about to commit a crime, and may frisk the suspect for weapons if they have reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous. Cases like these and many others clearly violate the fourth amendment. Your fourth amendment right is at risk of being taken away from you by the federal, state, and local governments of the United States. This can be seen on a multitude of fronts, but one of the most obvious, most ignored, and most dangerous is the problem of mandatory government checkpoints. Evidence pointing to this includes the case of Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, the article titled More Arizona Cops Harassing Travellers At Border Patrol Checkpoints, and the video titled 4th of July DUI Checkpoint - Drug Dogs, Searched Without Consent, While Innocent.
Entire site written by Kyle Jones.