What is the Fourth Amendment and how can it protect my rights?

All the court decisions regarding the "rules" of search and seizure, are rooted in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It states:

"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 objective of the Fourth Amendment was (and is) to protect individual liberty and privacy from unreasonable government intrusion.

Court orders suppressing incriminating evidence are designed to deter police from repeating official misconduct, but their availability is strictly limited. Since suppression constitutes a drastic and socially costly course of action, only those whose personal Fourth Amendment rights have been violated can seek it. The right to claim the protection of the Fourth Amendment depends. . .upon whether the person. . .has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the invaded place. A subjective expectation of privacy is legitimate if it is one society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. Where school officials, not acting as police agents, search lockers, there is no expectation of privacy because the school stands in the place of the parents.

FOURTH AMENDMENT ISSUES

30087. UNLAWFUL DETENTION/ARREST. A statement resulting from unreasonable detention or arrest may be suppressed.

30088. TRANSPORT FOR QUESTIONING. Involuntary transportation of a suspect to the police station or other location for questioning is a de facto arrest. Unless there is PC for arrest, resulting statements--even though Mirandized--may be suppressed.

30089. UNLAWFUL SEARCH/SEIZURE. A statement induced by confrontation with illegally-seized evidence may be suppressed.

30090. PRIOR TESTIMONY AS FRUIT. Where defendant's testimony at a prior proceeding was motivated by an unlawfully-obtained and wrongly-admitted confession, evidence of the prior testimony may be suppressed.

30091. DELAYED ARRAIGNMENT. A confession obtained during a period of delay in meeting statutory arraignment deadlines is not ipso facto inadmissible.

30092. UNLAWFUL ENTRY. If police have PC to arrest, but enter in violation of Ramey-Payton to make the arrest (no warrant, consent or exigency), a statement later obtained at the station is not rendered inadmissible by Payton.

30093. ATTENUATION. Fourth Amendment taint may be attenuated, considering passage of time, intervening circumstances, nature of police misconduct, and voluntariness of a resulting statement.

30094. IMPEACHMENT. A statement suppressed on Fourth Amendment grounds is admissible for impeachment of the defendant.

30095. MAPP/PC '1538.5/W&I '700.1 MOTION. Where a statement is claimed to be the fruit of unreasonable search or seizure, defendants procedural remedy is via Fourth Amendment-related suppression motion. Noncompliance with Miranda procedures does not provide a basis for exclusion of physical evidence fruits.