Introduction to the Fourth Amendment
Last updated
Last updated
Watch this video and pay close attention to the officer's narrator's key point:
When I'm on duty as a law enforcement officer, I view every person I come into contact with as though they were wrapped in the Constitution. And the only way that I–as a law enforcement officer–can get to that citizen is by lawfully unwrapping it.
The Fourth Amendment prohibits government intrusion upon the privacy and property rights of the people. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states 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.
The Fourth Amendment contains two distinct parts. The first part defines the right, which requires that all government searches and seizures be reasonable. The second part (the Warrants Clause) mandates that probable cause exists before search or arrest warrants may be issued, and requires that warrants particularly describe the place(s) to be searched and person(s) or thing(s) to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment regulates the actions of government officials. The term “government” does not solely refer to law enforcement conduct. Instead, the Fourth Amendment acts as a restraint on the entire government. For instance, the Court has held the Fourth Amendment applicable to the activities of civil authorities such as building inspectors, Occupational Safety and Health Act inspectors, firefighters entering privately owned premises to battle a fire, public school officials, and state hospital administrators.
The Fourth Amendment does not regulate private conduct, regardless of whether that conduct is reasonable or unreasonable. Evidence of a crime that is obtained through a “private search” may be admissible against a defendant, even if the private search was conducted illegally.
While the Fourth Amendment may not apply to a “private search” by a private citizen, it does apply when that citizen is acting as an instrument or agent of the government. The issue in such a search necessarily turns on the degree of the government’s participation in the private party’s activities. That question can only be resolved in light of all the circumstances. In making this determination, the courts typically focus on three factors:
Whether the government knows of or acquiesces in the private actor’s conduct;
Whether the private party intends to assist law enforcement officers at the time of the search; and
Whether the government affirmatively encourages, initiates, or instigates the private action.
Unless otherwise indicated, this page's content is adapted from the following public domain source: (2023), §§ 18.1-18.2, 18.6-18.6.2, by Office of Chief Counsel, Amanda Barak & Lindsey Brower, Editors. This page is in the public domain.
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