THE RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE
Essential Question: How has an individual’s right
to privacy changed over time?
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PRIVACY
The Fourth Amendment:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.”
RIGHT TO PRIVACY LIMITS
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US Courts have typically argued that an officer’s duty
to protect the public outweighs an individual’s right to
privacy.
Police officers must have a warrant from a magistrate
listing a specific address/location to be searched. In
order to get a search warrant, police officers must have
probable cause.
In order to conduct a search without a warrant, officers
can have probable cause PLUS the reasonable belief
that if the search is delayed while the officer obtains a
warrant from the court, that the evidence in question
could be removed/destroyed.
Officers are allowed to stop, pat-search, and question
any person who is behaving “suspiciously”.
POST 9/11 CHALLENGES TO INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY
After 9/11/2001, the US government passed the
USA PATRIOT Act, (Uniting and Strengthening
America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism)
 The act allows:
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Easier process for obtaining search warrants
 Broader searches with a single warrant
 Eavesdropping on phones, voicemail, emails
 “Sneak and peek” searches
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The justification – violating an individual’s right
to privacy can save lives
COURT DECISIONS
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1928 – Olmstead v. US – US Supreme Court said
that investigators could tap phone lines without
violating the 4th Amendment because officers were
not physically entering an individual’s property
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Dissenting Opinion – Issued by Justice Brandeis –
Argued that the 4th Amendment protected an
individual’s right to “be left alone” and should not be
limited to only protected our physical property
1967 –Katz v. US – US Supreme Court reversed
the decision in the Olmstead case, and concurred
with Brandeis’ dissenting opinion – The 4th
Amendment protects people, not places
IMPORTANT SEARCH AND SEIZURE CASES
1918 - Weeks v. US – established the
Exclusionary Rule (evidence obtained illegally
cannot be used against someone in court)
 1961 - Mapp v. Ohio – Incorporated the
Exclusionary Rule (extended the protections of
the 4th Amendment to state governments)
 1985 - New Jersey v. TLO – A search based on
reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause
is considered “reasonable” under the 4th
Amendment (essentially limiting students’ rights
to protection from unreasonable search and
seizure)
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