The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is one which protects a person’s right to privacy, and states that every citizen has the right to be free from the government making an unreasonable intrusion into their home, person, property or business. This amendment covers police stop and search, arrests, and the search of your home or business, and seizure of assets.
Lawmakers have put some safeguards in place to ensure that law enforcement officers can carry out justice in a limited set of circumstances, protecting the rights of individuals the majority of the time. The fourth amendment protects people against search and seizure in areas where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Law enforcement officers must follow specific procedures if they wish to arrest someone, and if they wish to search a person’s property or enter a hotel room, place of business, or home.
If you feel that you have been subject to a search and or seizure that was not lawful, then you should seek legal advice from a firm such as Cobleys Solicitors in London, United Kingdom. The law is complex, but in general a police officer may not search or seize an individual or that person’s property unless they have a warrant for that purpose, or a belief that passes the “probable cause” test that the person in question has committed a crime.
Violation of the Fourth Amendment
Search and seizure lawyers can help you in cases where you feel the fourth amendment has been violated. You should contact them if you are arrested and feel that the arrest was not supported by a valid warrant and that the officer cannot show probable cause. In addition, if the police search your home and there has not been a warrant issued, then the police must be able to show that special circumstances can justify the search. If the police obtain evidence as a result of an unlawful search, then that evidence is not admissible in a criminal case.
A criminal defense attorney can work through the rules for search and seizure with you. These rules are complex, so your best course of action if you feel that you have been unlawfully treated is to seek legal advice immediately. Your lawyer will review your case, advise you on what to say to the police, and help you to defend yourself and make sure that justice is done in the end.
