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.”
Terry vs. Ohio portrays the Fourth Amendment, that there is a prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures, and that this is not violated when a police officer feels that there is “probable cause,” to arrest/confront, or search them.
A police detective named Martin Mcfadden, one day saw two men standing outside a store window. They would start to converse, and than periodically one of the men would walk in, look around the store. Than the man would walk back out of the store, and continue to converse with the man. This happened every so often, and a total of about twelve times. This seemed as “probable cause” to Mcfadden, so he decided to confront the two. After a few questions, he decided to pat the two’s clothing down, and found that they were both armed. Mcfadden arrested them for possesion of “concealed weapons.” Terry plead not guilty, however was sentenced to 3 years in prison
Pertaining to the fourth amendment, the amendment only applies to seizures. Since what the police officer did to Terry, did not qualify as a seizure, and he seemed to have “probable cause,” the fourth amendment did not protect him.
