Amendment Blog

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 outlines the wish of the government to allow people time and privacy of their own. But, like all other amendments, this amendment does not clearly outline what the government can and cannot do, and what the people are completely protected from. However the system was written to be open to interpretation which presents a problem to government and the people.

If the system is open to interpretation, then it is seemingly set up for everyone's interpretation. Leaving the government and the people in a pickle they don't wholly know how escape.

The fourth amendment protects people's privacy but it also presents a problem for government; concerning its ability to perform search and seizures etc. The amendment calls for proper reason and warrants for a search to take place. But we do not know where to draw the line between 'protecting people's privacy and catching criminals.'

I believe it is hard to draw this line. People should be concerned with protecting privacy but also protecting society as a whole. If there is a very dangerous threat out there then I believe that that person's privacy is of no value to me, as long as the rest of society is safe. But we may never know which contains more good unless we perform a search.