Best Fourth Amendment Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, intact for over 200 years, guaranteed that 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 of affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. After September 11th, 2001, those were just words on an old piece of paper, no longer a restriction of the Government’s overreaching power to shake down its subjects.”

Government Freedom Constitution Constitutional Rights Government Abuse September 11th Fourth Amendment Searches United States Constitution Warrant

Book:A Patriot's Act

Source: A Patriot's Act

“The law was written at a time when folks were not that interested in the Fourth Amendment. Or the Fifth Amendment, for that matter, Or, actually, the Sixth." He chortled lightly to himself. "Or the eighth.”

Patriot Act Fourth Amendment Fifth Amendment Sixth Amendment Eighth Amendment

Author:Nathan Hill

“Americans don't care about privacy, and the people running the country couldn't be happier.”

Politics Privacy Surveillance Police State Fourth Amendment Surveillance State

Author:Thor Benson

“[T]here is both an intrinsic and instrumental value to privacy. Intrinsically, privacy is precious to the extent that it is a component of a liberty. Part of citizenship in a free society is the expectation that one's personal affairs and physical person are inviolable so long as one remains within the law. A robust concept of freedom includes the freedom from constant and intrusive government surveillance of one's life. From this perspective, Fourth Amendment violations are objectionable for the simple fact that the government is doing something it has no licence to do–that is, invading the privacy of a law-abiding citizen by monitoring her daily activities and laying hands on her person without any evidence of wrongdoing. Privacy is also instrumental in nature. This aspect of the right highlights the pernicious effects, rather than the inherent illegitimacy, of intrusive, suspicionless surveillance. For example, encroachments on individual privacy undermine democratic institutions by chilling free speech. When citizens–especially those espousing unpopular viewpoints–are aware that the intimate details of their personal lives are pervasively monitored by government, or even that they could be singled out for discriminatory treatment by government officials as a result of their First Amendment expressive activities, they are less likely to freely express their dissident views.”

Freedom Liberty Constitution Privacy Free Speech First Amendment Surveillance American Society Constitutional Rights Fourth Amendment Surveillance Society

Book:A Government Of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State

Source: A Government Of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State

“If you can see a cop in your rear view mirror - no matter how far back the cop is - TURN! The sooner you turn the better. Your goal while driving should be to never let a law enforcement officer into a position where he can pull you over. Don't even let them come close enough to read your tag.”

Police Libertarian Anarchy Marijuana Searching Narcotics Fourth Amendment Rex Curry

Book:Drug Detection Dog Training: Libertarian Lawyers Fight Police State USA

Source: Drug Detection Dog Training: Libertarian Lawyers Fight Police State USA

“If you can see a cop in your rear view mirror - no matter how far back the cop is - TURN!" according to Attorney Rex Curry, "The sooner you turn the better. Your goal while driving should be to never let a law enforcement officer into a position where he can pull you over. Don't even let them come close enough to read your tag.”

Police Libertarian Anarchy Marijuana Searching Narcotics Fourth Amendment Rex Curry

Book:Drug Detection Dog Training: Libertarian Lawyers Fight Police State USA

Source: Drug Detection Dog Training: Libertarian Lawyers Fight Police State USA

“The Fourth Amendment wasn't written for people with nothing to hide any more than the First Amendment was written for people with nothing to say.”

Law Rights Constitution First Amendment Bill Of Rights Fourth Amendment

Author:Dave Krueger

“The Fourth Amendment doesn't apply to corporations.”

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Author:Al Franken

“The institutions that we've built up over the years to protect our individual privacy rights from the government don't apply to the private sector. The Fourth Amendment doesn't apply to corporations. The Freedom of Information Act doesn't apply to Silicon Valley. And you can't impeach Google if it breaks its 'Don't be evil' campaign pledge.”

“No-knock police raids destroy Americans' right to privacy and safety. People's lives are being ruined or ended as a result of unsubstantiated assertions by anonymous government informants. ... Unfortunately, no-knock raids are becoming more common as federal, state, and local politicians and law enforcement agencies decide that the war on drugs justified nullifying the Fourth Amendment. ... No-knock raids in response to alleged narcotics violations presume that the government should have practically unlimited power to endanger some people's lives in order to control what others ingest.”

“The nice men in periwigs who came up with the Fourth Amendment were recklessly naive to imagine that branches of a government, each of whose power is enhanced when the power of the other branches grows, would serve to check one another.”

Men Government Grows Nice Imagine Checks Branches Amendments Fourth Imagine That Naive Fourth Amendment Nice Man

Author:Ilana Mercer

“I want to collect more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans. The Fourth Amendment was what we fought the Revolution over! John Adams said it was the spark that led to our war for independence, and I'm proud of standing for the Bill of Rights, and I will continue to stand for the Bill of Rights.”

Want Said War Records Rights Revolution Proud Standing Independence Bills Terrorist Innocent Sparks Amendments Fourth Bill Of Rights Fourth Amendment

Author:Rand Paul

“The DOJ has employed these investigations in communities across our nation to reform serious patterns and practices of force, biased policing and other unconstitutional practices by law enforcement. I'm asking the Department of Justice to investigate if our police department has engaged in a pattern or practice of stops, searches or arrests that violate the Fourth Amendment.”

“The Fourth Amendment was what we fought the Revolution over!”

Revolution Amendments Fourth Fourth Amendment

Author:Rand Paul

“While the machinery of law enforcement and indeed the nature of crime itself have changed dramatically since the Fourth Amendment became part of the Nation's fundamental law in 1791, what the Framers understood then remains true today - that the task of combating crime and convicting the guilty will in every era seem of such critical and pressing concern that we may be lured by the temptations of expediency into forsaking our commitment to protecting individual liberty and privacy.”

“It's hard for me to believe that just my words on the page are enough. I ought to be out physically keeping abortion safe and legal, restoring the Fourth Amendment, getting clean water back into Kentucky since the Bush Administration has allowed strip miners to fill it all up with slag. The list is endless. Bring it down. Make it small. Make it one thing that you can do. It's very hard for me to remember that.”

“I don't think it's a lack of will. I think it's an issue of what people view as constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment, number one, and what customers and business partners expect around the world from secure computing systems. And it's a difference of view.”

People Thinking World Differences Views Numbers Issues Rights Customers Partners Secure Around The World Amendments Fourth Computing Constitutional Rights Business Partners Fourth Amendment

Author:Rod Beckstrom

“Our bill of rights has been shredded. The fourth amendment specifically prohibits the kind of activities the NSA is involved in domestically. The fifth amendment prohibits any president or anyone else from killing anyone without due process.”

Kind Has Beens Process President Rights Involved Activity Bills Killing Dues Amendments Fourth Fifth Nsa Bill Of Rights Due Process Fourth Amendment Fifth Amendment

Author:Ray McGovern

“I'd say that [Louis] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you start with the paradigm case, which in the case of the Fourth Amendment was these general warrants or writs of assistance, but you define it at a level of abstraction that you can take it into our age and make it our own.”

Kind Said Book Use Age Levels Cases Titles Amendments Fourth Assistance Abstraction Paradigm Great Book Warrants Fourth Amendment Louis Brandeis Writs Of Assistance

Author:Jeffrey Rosen

“He [Louis Brandeis] would have not had any patience with that great debate which you're right to kind of signal between Justice Scalia and Justice Alito about do you need a physical trespass into the home or onto the carriage in order to trigger the values of the Fourth Amendment.”

Needs Kind Home Values Order Justice Debate Amendments Fourth Signals Triggers Carriages Fourth Amendment Louis Brandeis Justice Scalia

Author:Jeffrey Rosen

“This [anti-terrorism bill] is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourth Amendment protection of private property... Some of these provisions place more power in the hands of law enforcement than our Founding Fathers could have dreamt and severely compromises the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. This bill, while crafted with good intentions, is rife with constitutional infringements I could not support.”

“The Fourth Amendment is on life support and the chief agent of that is the National Security Agency.”

Support Security Agents Chiefs Agency Amendments Fourth National Security Fourth Amendment

Author:Nat Hentoff

“I was lecturing at the Columbia Journalism School of Education. I asked them about what was happening to the Fourth Amendment. I said, "By the way, do you know what is in the Fourth Amendment?" One student responded, "Is that the right to bear arms?" It's hard to believe these are bright students.”

Knows Way Believe Said Hard School Students Arms Bears Happenings Journalism Do You Know Amendments Fourth Right To Bear Arms Columbia Hard To Believe Lecturing Fourth Amendment

Author:Nat Hentoff

“The media has been very bad about informing us about what is going on. They focus on surface things. They do not focus enough on the fact that the Fourth Amendment is on life support and that we need a return to transparency in government.”

Needs Has Beens Enough Facts Government Support Focus Media Return Surface Amendments Fourth Transparency Informing Fourth Amendment

Author:Nat Hentoff

“We are going to have a long period where people are accustomed or conditioned to what's going on now with the raping of the Fourth Amendment.”

People Long Periods Amendments Fourth Accustomed Fourth Amendment

Author:Nat Hentoff

“Disturbingly, the First Amendment, along with the Fourth Amendment - protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, and requiring warrants - have been the major casualties of the shift in government policy in the last two decades. Unfortunately, I think that the biggest consequences of this tragedy won't be clear until it is far, far too late.”

“The 4th Amendment and the personal rights it secures have a long history. At the very core stands the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion.”

Men Long Home Government Rights Core Amendments Retreat Unreasonable Intrusion Fourth Amendment Amendment 4 Personal Rights

Author:Potter Stewart

“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”

“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent.”

“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”

“It is better, so the Fourth Amendment teaches us, that the guilty sometimes go free than the citizens be subject to easy arrest.”

Sometimes Easy Liberty Teach Subjects Citizens Libertarian Guilty Amendments Fourth Libertarianism Fourth Amendment

Author:William O. Douglas

“Just as the First and Fourth Amendment secure individual rights of speech and security respectively, the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. This view of the text comports with the all but unanimous understanding of the Founding Fathers.”

“When they took the Fourth Amendment, I was silent because I don't deal drugs. When they took the Sixth Amendment, I kept quiet because I know I'm innocent. When they took the Second Amendment, I said nothing because I don't own a gun. Now they've come for the First Amendment, and I can't say anything at all.”

Knows Firsts Said I Can Deals Society Drug Quiet Gun Silent Innocent Innocence Amendments Fourth Say Anything First Amendment Second Amendment Fourth Amendment Collecting Things

Author:Tim Freeman

“Asking questions is an essential part of police investigation. In the ordinary sense a police officer is free to ask a person for identification without implicating the Fourth Amendment.”

Persons Asks Essentials Ordinary Asking Police Officers Amendments Fourth Investigation Police Officer Identification Asking Questions Fourth Amendment

Author:Anthony Kennedy

“The framers of our Constitution understood the dangers of unbridled government surveillance. They knew that democracy could flourish only in spaces free from government snooping and interference, and they put restraints on government overreaching in the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. . . . These protections require, at a minimum, a neutral arbiter - a magistrate - standing between the government's endless desire for information and the citizens' desires for privacy.”

“The makers of our Constitution . . . conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.”

Men Government Liberty Rights Constitution Civilized Makers Comprehensive Liberty And Justice Supreme Court Justice Fourth Amendment Law Courts Controlling Government Legal Rights Laws And Government

Author:Louis D. Brandeis

“No one in their right mind can say to me with a straight face that the Patriot Act has not aggregated the Fourth Amendment.”

Mind Faces Amendments Fourth Patriot Patriot Act Fourth Amendment Straight Face Usa Patriot Act

Author:Peter Camejo

“This view of the text comports with the all but unanimous understanding of the Founding Fathers.”

Father Understanding Views Founding Fourth Amendment

Author:John Ashcroft

“For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected.”

People May Persons Home Subjects Protect Office Areas Protection Preserves Privacy Amendments Fourth Protected Fourth Amendment

Author:Potter Stewart

“The First Amendment is not without limits.”

Firsts Limits Amendments First Amendment Fourth Amendment

Author:Jerry Falwell

“The Fourth Amendment is clear; we should be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, and all warrants must have probable cause. Today the government operates largely in secret, while seeking to know everything about our private lives - without probable cause and without a warrant.”

Knows Should Persons Government Today House Causes Secret Clear Effects Paper Seeking Secure Amendments Fourth Papers Private Life Warrants Fourth Amendment Probable Cause

Author:Ron Paul