One term that you may be questioning the meaning of is probable cause, because it has been widely used without exactly explaining the definition. It is a situation allowing the police reason to believe that a person sho

Since the Supreme Court justices change with every new Presidential administration, so do the views on different policies that the Court has ruled on in the past. This is why many cases and policies have been overturned because of different views in the Justices who make up a particular administration. For example, during the 1970s the Court was closely divided on which standard to apply. For a while, the balance was favor of the view that searches without warrants are unreasonable, with a few carefully prescribed exceptions. Gradually, the Court broadened its view of allowable exceptions and broadened the scope of those exceptions.

Because conservatives and liberals have varying interpretations of the 4th Amendment, there is no doubt that many a debate has been sprung by certain circumstances. For example, there have been various instances around the United States where school students have claimed random testing has violated their right of protection against search and seizure. One of the most famous of these cases is New Jersey vs. TLO. The case involved a 14 year old girl from Piscataway High School in New Jersey. A teacher found TLO smoking in the girls' bathroom, which is illegal since schools are a designated tobacco free zone. The teacher took TLO to the principal's office, where she was questioned by the vice principal. TLO denied the fact that she even smoked, but the assistant principal, Mr. Choplick, ordered her to hand over her purse. Upon inspection, a package of cigarettes, marijuana, rolling paper, and other drug paraphernalia were found in the purse. She was then suspended and charged for drug possession.

But that all changed when the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the search of TLO violated the rights guaranteed in the 4th Constitutional Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the case and reversed the lower court decision. In an opinion written by Justice White, the Court first held, importantly, that the Fourth Amendment does apply to student searches conducted by school authorities. (Simpson, Article 2)

As you can see, the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution covers a wide scope of topics and situations. Therefore, it has been subjected to much debate over the years, resulting in the interpretations of this right that we all have today. But with the changing views of the Court system and the majority of American citizens, the protection against unlawful search and seizure will most certainly come under scrutiny and debate again in the near future.

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