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Means of Executing Searches and Seizures as Fourth Amendment Issues

NCJ Number
97350
Journal
Minnesota Law Review Volume: 67 Issue: 1 Dated: (October 1982) Pages: 89-177
Author(s)
G E Dix
Date Published
1982
Length
89 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether the fourth amendment's requirement of 'reasonableness' as a basis for searches and seizures does or should go beyond requiring a reasonably precise warrant and evidence adequate to justify an intrusion upon protected interests.
Abstract
The number and nature of issues surrounding the matter in which an otherwise reasonable search or seizure is conducted are addressed, with attention to the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision in State v. Sierra. The court noted that although 'the language of the fourth amendment may arguably extend to searches made with probable cause that are conducted in an improper manner, there is little explicit support in judicial decisions for this proposition despite the tremendous number of cases that involve the fourth amendment.' U.S. Supreme Court cases relating to the fourth amendment are concluded to provide conflicting signals and few definitive holdings concerning this aspect of the scope of the fourth amendment. The author concludes that although the content of the privacy interests protected by the fourth amendment has not been precisely articulated by the courts, specifically regarding the mode of conducting searches, certain aspects should to include (1) the extent of force used in the search and seizure, (2) the time of the search, and (3) the duration of the search. Recommendations for appropriate restrictions in these areas are offered. Included are 302 references.