Taking The Fourth Away ?

Most of us are familiar with the Fifth Amendment, but how many of us are familiar with Fourth Amendment? Back in the day the Founding Fathers were very concerned with government intrusion. Under the rule of the British king in colonial America breaking into the homes of political opponents and depriving them of their possessions was a common practice.

From Legal Information Institute:

Amendment IV

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.

The Fourth Amendment is very pertinent in light of the recent DOJ’s raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Everyone with a modicum of intelligence realizes that this was a political stunt with the warrant signed by an anti-Trump judge. This raid appears to be just part of the politicalization of the DOJ and was addressed by Harmeet  Dhillon in a piece on Imprimus:

“For over 180 years after the Founding, the Supreme Court applied the Fourth Amendment protection to places and things, and this meant that dwellings were given a heightened sense of protection against government intrusion. The Supreme Court has reiterated that “the physical entry of the home is the chief evil against which the Fourth Amendment is directed.”

Hmmm! 

The other part of the Fourth Amendment has to do with the specificity of the place to be searched and the things to be seized. The FBI apparently searched everywhere including bringing along a professional safe cracker  to break into Trump’s new private safe  … it was empty! Furthermore the agents went through Melania Trump’s underwear drawers! Hmmm! Recall that the Fourth Amendment specifies places to be searched.

I think that it can be safely stated that the Mår-a-Lago raid did not comply with the spirit of the Fourth Amendment. Moreover, the issue is now whether or not Biden’s DOJ still thinks the Fourth Amendment needs to be adhered to! 

10/22/22

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