Individual Freedom Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual Freedom - Assignment Example Warrants should always be obtained when doing search and seizures. Keywords: Introduction 1500 words In the history of the people of the United States, before it was known as such, the British were a ruling force in the land. In dealings with the British, much as was found in the homeland of Britain, there have been seizures of private property and belongings of the people without benefit of reason. When the Bill of Rights was created, the Fourth Amendment was also created which guaranteed the right of people to be secure in their homes, and that all possessions in their home and about their person, would also be safe , unless due cause could be shown and sworn to by the appropriate person (Franklin, Jefferson, & Madison, 2013). Therefore, such items which are confiscated during a search, and the search of a premise itself, conducted without benefit of a warrant, are not considered permissible in a court of law and during a trial (Coyle, 2013). 1.Enforcement of the Fourth Amendment h as been upheld in a number of cases since that time, including Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) and Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964), which was guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, said that any statements of self-incrimination made by the defendant, without benefit of counsel being present, would be considered void (Coyle, 2013). Subsequently, the Supreme Court took a step further in the case of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 439 (1966), emphasized that a statement must be read to each person, notifying them of the right to remain silent, so as to not incriminate themselves, and that anything said after that, would then be considered a confession and self-incriminating, valid for use in court as evidence (Coyle, 2013). Justice Bradley stated in the case of Weeks v. U.S., 232 U.S. 383 (1914), that in Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616 (1886), the previous ruling made by Lord Camden in Entick v. Carrington, 19 Howell’s State Trials, 102 (1765), a British common law case concerning the liberties of people, declared that the defendants, who committed the trespass on John Entwick, were not guilty of trespassing when the king’s messengers broke into Entwick’s home and proceeded look through everything for four hours. They caused damage to the house and its contents, and also through removing possessions from the home in order to deliver them to Lord Halifax, who had issued that warrant. Yet it was shown by Justice Bradley, within the Weeks case, that on further review, Lord Halifax had no right to issue a warrant and therefore, the complaint by Entwick against Halifax, was sustained, based on English common laws (Findlaw, 2013). 2.Chief Justice John Marshall has stated that the founding fathers, in creating the Constitution, expected the people to observe the fundamental principles of freedom as set forth in the structure. People were to exhibit thoughtfulness and experience in giving meaning to these principles in an ever-changing w orld and yet, the Constitution must continue forward (Stone & Marshall, 2011). In the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution, these principles were put into place because of past abuses by higher powers in search and seizures of people without regard to their rights as free humans. When a rumor could instigate a search and seizure, then all people were at risk of their liberty and would have to live in fear. Therefore, it was important that