Fourth Amendment and Court Jurisdiction
Based on the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution citizens have a right to 'be secure in their persons'. Referring to personal rights against 'unreasonable searches and seizures' (Wolfish, 441 U.S. At 595 Stevens, dissenting LectLaw, 2011). The definition implies that people cannot be detained or intruded upon by police or other law enforcement without a reasonable cause. It is a protection to acknowledge a citizen's rights under a higher authority or power that they must submit to. The Constitutional intent may be at odds with law enforcement because it protects the people by prohibiting the law to intrude even if the person(s) is a known criminal unless there is a reason (Wolfish, 441 U.S. At 595 Stevens, dissenting Lect Law, 2011).
For law enforcement to seize or detain a citizen there must be a reasonable cause. There are many court cases that have precedent over the use of the Fourth Amendment. The time limitation for detaining a person is set at 48 hours according to a case U.S. v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 542-44 ('85 LectLaw, 2011), where the question was whether the amount of time that a person traveling in the U.S. could be detained at the border barring a hearing. It was ruled that holding a person longer than 48 hours was a violation of Fourth Amendment rights. For that person to remain in custody requires...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now