“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” (Hudson, 2010, p.363). In this essay we will explore what is reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. A discussion of consensual encounters vs. detentions concerning search and seizure, we will also discus important cases that shape the fundamentals procedures of search and seizure.
According to Rutledge (2010) p.109, reasonableness may have up four factors to consider: Justification, scope, place, …show more content…
A justifiable search could have many factors that would allow an officer to conduct a proper search or make a lawful detention and stops. One of them is a search warrant, which carries a limited authority to detain persons present and also search the property detailed on the warrant. Another is a criminal profile; an example would be of a drug dealer that would fit the physical description given to the officer. Anonymous tip, multiple informant’s, an example is like two or more persons able to identify someone that has committed a crime, and of course police observation. However if the officer sees something suspicious he/she has to articulate why such person has broken the law and given him/her probable cause to do a warrantless search or detention on such said person. Scope falls in the actual process of the search, meaning that you could only reasonably search with in the search area, an example that my teacher Mr. Enos discussed in class, was if your searching for alcohol in a vehicle then you could only search were alcohol could be reasonably hidden inside a car. Place refers to a public or private area, an …show more content…
Greenwood, Katz vs. U.S, and Whren vs. U.S. California vs. Greenwood was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the premise of a home. What happen in this case was that an investigator had various sources saying that Mr. Greenwood sold illegal drugs out of his home. So the investigator asked the trash collector if he could bring the trash to her, and sure enough there was drug paraphernalia in the trash bags (Wikipidia). In the case of Katz vs. U.S. the issue was a warrantless search and seizure in a violation of the fourth amendment? The situation was as followed Katz used a certain phone booth for interstate bookmaking and those conversations were being tape by some agents and those tapes were used to convict Katz of federal crimes. However Katz contended that the interception of his phone calls were in violation of his fourth amendment rights, and the courts a greed and reverse Katz’s conviction stating that the search had not being pre-approve by the judge and was warrantless therefore illegal (Rutledge p.158). In the case of Whren vs. US the issue is can a traffic stop be used as a pretext to stop a vehicle for investigative purpose? (Rutledge p.167). Under cover narcotics officers saw a vehicle make two traffic