THE THIRD AND FOURTH AMENDMENTS

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Frederick Barrett
5 years ago
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1 THE BILL OF RIGHTS: THE FIRST TEN AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND THE CLOSEST CONNECTION TO YOUR LIFE THE THIRD AND FOURTH AMENDMENTS

2 THE THIRD AMENDMENT No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. You have the right to not have to house and feed soldiers in peace, and if there is a war, and you are required to do it, then the legislative body of your representatives must have proscribed the manner in which it is done, not the executive on his own.

3 THE THIRD AMENDMENT The first case study we will examine regarding the third amendment presents an interesting interpretation of an amendment that has no real controversy surrounding it for over 200 years. In fact, up to a few years ago, I would normally just state what the third amendment was, and move on without any closer examination. It is only recently that some new interpretations have arisen that make the third amendment relevant again. This should demonstrate that the Bill of Rights is a living set of rights whose interpretations change to meet the times. Not that we should never refer to the intent of the founding fathers, but in order to maintain its relevance, when we do refer to them it should be to understand why they felt the protection was important. The case study introduces the concern over modern technology being used to see in the home of private individuals. It is equated to the third amendment by comparing this access to having a government employee living with you.

5 THE THIRD AMENDMENT The second case study refers to a recent event in Nevada where the police forcibly occupied the home of a citizen who was not accused of any crime. The Third Amendment issue that has been brought up by this case is whether the term soldier can be broadened today to include the police, or any other government official?

7 To add to the controversy, apparently there are still 18 th century British soldiers walking around, looking for a place to crash, who would like to see the 3 rd Amendment repealed.

8 THE FOURTH AMENDMENT 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. You or your property cannot be searched without a warrant, unless you are on public property where by entering you have voluntarily given up these rights, or officials have reasonable cause to suspect you of a crime. In order to get a warrant, the officials have to go before a judge and demonstrate with strong evidence that there is a high probability that you are committing a crime. Every warrant must specifically state where the officials can look, and what exactly they are looking for. If they look somewhere not described on the warrant, or find something not detailed as being sought on the warrant, it cannot be used against you.

9 THE FOURTH AMENDMENT So I am flipping around a few weeks ago, and I come across this show Police Women of Cincinnati and I cannot believe what I see Let s see if you can determine if the police professionals in Cincinnati demonstrate a knowledge of the Constitution that I think should be part of their necessary basic training, and if it is not apparent that it is, does it present a worrisome picture of the nature of our government s concern over protecting our rights?

11 THE FOURTH AMENDMENT This next case study is probably one of the biggest fourth amendment controversies to occur in the United States in recent memory. Does the National Security Agency s recording of all cell phone calls in order to mine them for statements that may indicate terrorist or criminal activity violate the fourth amendment? If it does, does protection and security from terrorist threats override the rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment? Should we trade some of our freedom for increased security, or, is it as Benjamin Franklin stated, Those who desire to trade freedom for security deserve neither?

The Five Freedoms: 1. Religion 2. Assembly 3. Press 4. Petition 5. Speech RAPPS

The Five Freedoms: 1. Religion 2. Assembly 3. Press 4. Petition 5. Speech RAPPS A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,