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Full-Text Articles in Law
Rebalancing The Fourth Amendment, Shima Baradaran
Rebalancing The Fourth Amendment, Shima Baradaran
Shima Baradaran
The events of September 11 forever changed the political and legal response to terrorism. After more than ten years, two wars, several targeted military strikes, and significantly increased surveillance, we still have not succeeded in stopping the growth of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. The war on terror has not just been a military one. To stop terrorism, it is imperative to cut off the flow of terrorism financing. To this end, a number of nations have created financial laws that prohibit the formation of anonymous companies and monitor suspicious bank transfers. These laws have been touted as evidence that …
Rebalancing The Fourth Amendment, Shima Baradaran
Rebalancing The Fourth Amendment, Shima Baradaran
Shima Baradaran
Fourth Amendment decisions primarily rely on balancing tests. None of these tests account for the fundamental flaw that skews the balance in these cases. The Fourth Amendment aims to protect the privacy of all individuals against government intrusion but is always presented to courts by a criminal defendant whose hands are dirty. Thus, when a court considers a balance of privacy interests against a government’s interest in effective law enforcement, the government wins almost every time. Without mitigation of the central weakness in Fourth Amendment balancing—that a criminal defendant is protecting the rights of all of society—these constitutional inquiries fail …