The 4th Amendment of the US Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of property that may incriminate a person. Police must first go through the courts to obtain a warrant before they can rifle through a person’s private property for evidence in a criminal case. If this right is violated, a person may take legal action to have that evidence thrown out of their criminal case.
In some cases, the 4th Amendment cannot extend Constitutional protection to a person’s right to privacy. These limitations include the following:
#1: Was there a right to privacy?
In many cases, a person may attempt to cite the 4th Amendment despite not actually having privacy rights. For example, a person who explicitly signs away their privacy rights as a part of an employment or housing agreement may not cite privacy rights later.
#2: Was the right to privacy cited a reasonable claim?
In some cases, a person may technically have a right to privacy in an extreme situation. However, the court may determine that the right to privacy a person cites can be unreasonable. In these situations, a person is not protected by the 4th Amendment and may have their property searched or taken by the police.
This informational blog post was brought to you by Jason A. Volet, an experienced New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer.
About the Author
Jason A. Volet
Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney, Jason A. Volet focuses his practice exclusively on criminal and municipal defense in New Jersey and New York. He earned his B.A. in political science from Rutgers College in 1995 and his J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law in 1998. Mr. Volet began his career in the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, where he gained extensive experience prosecuting both juvenile and adult offenders. Now, as a criminal defense attorney, he uses that experience to fight for the rights of individuals who have been charged with a crime.
