Fourth Amendment Commons^™

Can The "Public Interest" Justify Non-Consensual Searches Of Homes In Bankruptcy Cases?, A. Mechele Dickerson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Bits And Bytes: The Carnivore Initiative And The Search And Seizure Of Electronic Mail, Sandy D. Hellums

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note examines the application of Fourth Amendment search and seizure doctrines to the interception of electronic mail within the context of the FBI Carnivore initiative. The author argues that the traditional law of electronic surveillance's understanding of communication is outdated and never contemplated new technologies like Carnivore and their far reaching implications. Consequently, the author argues, that to protect our long-understood expectations of privacy, the search and seizure of electronic documents should be analyzed under the traditional papers analysis. To do so, the Supreme Court would afford the interception electronic documents the highest form of constitutional protect available under …

Individualized School Searches And The Fourth Amendment: What's A School District To Do?, Jason E. Yearout

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

As high-profile incidents of school violence appear to become more frequent and severe, public perception has deteriorated to the point where many citizens believe that schools are unsafe and administrators lack the power to control student activity. In their efforts to promote a safe learning environment, many school administrators have attempted to create strict guidelines concerning the power of school personnel to prevent illegal and unsafe activity from taking place at school. However, as administrators devise the rules by which to implement these standards, they are given little guidance by the Supreme Court regarding the application of the Fourth Amendment …

Personal Does Not Always Equal "Private": The Constitutionality Of Requiring Dna Samples From Convicted Felons And Arrestees, Martha L. Lawson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In the past couple of decades, the use of DNA testing has become a major debate in criminal law. Many Americans have called for regular use of DNA testing in criminal cases, particularly in the aftermath of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. While these tests can potentially help better ensure justice conducting DNA tests raises fundamental personal privacy concerns. This Note analyzes the development of DNA testing throughout the United States, giving a historical account of how the courts and local police departments have dealt with this testing Finally, the Note argues that the government's interest in mandatory testing of …

The Loss Of Privacy Is Just A Heartbeat Away: An Exploration Of Government Heartbeat Detection Technology And Its Impact On Fourth Amendment Protections, George M. Dery Iii

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The Department of Energy has developed the "Enclosed Space Detection System" (ESDS), a search tool that enables officials to identify persons hidden inside vehicles at certain sensitive sites, such as nuclear facilities. ESDS operates by measuring the movements in vehicles generated by the beating of an occupant's heart. This Article considers the Fourth Amendment privacy implications caused by the advent of a technology so advanced that it can probe all the way to one's heart. Specifically, this Article critically examines the Supreme Court's Fourth Amendment precedent concerning the definition of a "search" and the application of the "special needs" doctrine …

Suspicionless Drug Testing And Chandler V. Miller: Is The Supreme Court Making The Right Decisions, Ross H. Parr

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

During the last decade, the United States Supreme Court has rendered four major decisions regarding the validity of suspicionless drug testing policies. Such drug testing policies have become a common way for employers and other interested parties-including the government-both to deter the use of drugs and to determine who is acting under the influence of illegal narcotics. Because government officials often randomly select individuals for drug testing, some of these individuals have charged that a governmental drug testing policy violates the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court found this argument unconvincing in three cases decided between 1989 and 1997, but in …

Choosing Perspectives In Criminal Procedure, Ronald J. Bacigal

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this Article, Professor Bacigal examines the Supreme Court's use of various perspectives in examining the reasonableness of searches and seizures. Although the Supreme Court purports to rely on a consistent method of constitutional analysis when rendering decisions on Fourth Amendment issues, the case law in this area indicates that the Court is influenced sometimes by the citizen's perspective, sometimes by the police officers' perspective, and sometimes by the perspective of the hypothesized reasonable person.

After identifying the role of perspectives in a number of seminal Court decisions, Professor Bacigal discusses the benefits and limitations of the Court's reliance on …

Does The Fourth Amendment Apply To The Armed Forces?, Fredric I. Lederer, Frederic L. Borch

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.