Unreasonable search and seizure

Unreasonable Searches and Seizures

An unreasonable search is an examination or inspection, without authority of law, of one's premises, person, papers or effects, with a view to the discovery of stolen contraband or illicit property or for some evidence of guilt to be used in a prosecution for a crime. 237 P. 462, 464. An unreasonable seizure includes the actual taking of person or property. The Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution protect persons from unreasonable searches and seizures; a search and seizure without probable cause is constitutionally "unreasonable." 296 S.W. 1095, 1097. State constitutions offer similar protections. See 261 P. 232, 234.

Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is one of the provisions included in the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and was designed as a response to the controversial writs of assistance (a type of general search warrant), which were a significant factor behind the American Revolution. Toward that end, the amendment specifies that judicially sanctioned search and arrest warrants must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope according to specific information supplied by a person (usually a law enforcement officer) who has sworn by it and is therefore accountable to the issuing court.

In Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment is applicable to the state governments by way of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court has said that some searches and seizures may violate the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement even if a warrant is supported by probable cause and is limited in scope.