Reference no: EM133366437
Case: Weeks created some important Fourth Amendment protections that we still enjoy to this day -specifically, what's been termed the "exclusionary rule." In essence, this rule set out to address police misconduct by prohibiting the introduction in court of illegally obtained evidence found during an improper search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Weeks case was decided during a less technology-dependent era in our country's history, and its continued application in modern times can be a struggle.
Even the very idea of what constitutes a "search" in modern times, given advances in technology that can track people's movements remotely, can be very confusing for everyone, including the police officers who make the decision about whether or not to seek a warrant prior to taking a certain action.
For example, in United States v. Jones, 565 US (2012), the US Supreme Court decided that placing a GPS tracking device onto someone's vehicle did constitute a search under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Of course, this is not something that the Founders could have anticipated when originally drafting the Bill of Rights that contains the Fourth Amendment, nor could it have been known to the Court that originally decided the Weeks case.
Police officers, then, are sometimes on the cutting edge of law, policy, and technology. They have to make decisions in the moment that might end up with a court later deciding that the decision was wrong and that the officer violated someone's Fourth Amendment rights. What a challenging position to be in!
So, let's explore that idea a little further by considering an actual case that is pending a final decision by the US Supreme Court, Carpenter v. United States, Docket Number 16-402.
- Why do you think the government's behavior in Carpenter may be considered by the Court a valid search for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment.
- Why do you think the government's behavior may not be considered a valid search by the Court for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.
- What decision would you make if you were deciding this case: Was it a valid search and, if so, was a warrant required? Why or why not?