Warrants Essay Example for Free

Warrants Essay 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. (1) These words of the Fourth Amendment give the people protection against unnecessary harassment by local, state and federal law enforcements. Authorities have to go through a process to acquire a warrant to search homes, papers, effects and persons with probable cause. However, there is a rationale for a warrantless search. This poses the questions: What is the rationale for allowing warrantless searches, are those reasons persuasive and do all such searches require that probable cause exist or are there exceptions? The definition of a warrant is a writ permitting or directing someone to take some action. Often, the term refers to a writ from a judge; permitting law enforcement personnel to take some action, such as: make an arrest, search a location, or seize some piece of property. (1) There are many different types of warrants. Some include: a search warrant, an arrest warrant, an anticipatory warrant, and a no-knock warrant. A Search Warrant is an order signed by a judge that directs owners of private property to allow the police to enter and search for items named in the warrant. Judges wont issue a warrant unless they have been convinced by the police that there is probable cause for the search that reliable evidence shows that its more likely than not that a crime has occurred and that the items sought by the police are connected with it and will be found at the location named in the warrant. In limited situations, the police may search without a warrant, but they cannot use what they find at trial if the defense can show that they had no probable cause for the search. An Arrest Warrant is a document issued by a judge or magistrate that authorizes the police to arrest someone. Warrants are issued when law enforcement personnel present evidence to judges or magistrates that convince them that it is reasonably likely that a crime has taken place and that the person to be named in the warrant is criminally responsible for that crime. An Anticipatory Warrant is a warrant that is based on an affidavit that shows probable cause that evidence of a particular crime will be at a specified location at some time in the future. A No-Knock Warrant is a search warrant authorizing police officers to enter certain premises without first knocking and announcing their presence or purpose prior to entering the premises. (2) Each of these warrants must first be approved by a judge or a magistrate and must meet certain requirements. The authorities must go through a process to obtain a warrant. Only judges may issue search warrants. Search warrants must be specific and reasonable before they are granted by the judge in a court of law. To obtain a warrant, law enforcement officers must show that there is probable cause to believe a search is justified. Probable cause is the amount and quality of information police must have before they can search or arrest without a warrant. (3) Some of the specifics they must include are of the following: If one room of a house is listed on the search warrant than only that room can be searched. If other rooms need to be searched than another warrant must be obtained by law enforcement officials. If a vehicle needs to be searched on a property, a separate warrant needs to be obtained for the vehicle. And the warrant must be of reasonable inclusivity. (2) If these requirements are not met, then the judge will not grant the warrant. Courts use a reasonableness test when considering whether a search violates the federal Constitution. This reasonableness test preempts other state and federal laws. If a â€Å"no-knock† entry is unreasonable at the time police execute a search warrant, they must â€Å"knock and announce† their presence, even if they have a no-knock warrant. 4) This is where the Exclusionary Rule comes into play. The exclusionary rule prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of the United States Constitution. It applies to evidence gained from an unreasonable search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. It is defined as a rule of evidence that disallows the use of illegally obtained evidence in criminal trials. (4) Warrants must be issued before authorities can search and seize property and if they do not obtain a warrant first they are violating a person’s Miranda Rights. Although in most cases a warrant is required, there are a few situations in which there are exceptions to needing probable cause for a warrant. A warrant is not needed is in a time of consent. If a police officer stops you and you consent to allowing him to search your car, a warrant is not needed. If anything illegal is found on you or on your property then those items can be confiscated and you can be arrested. Another time is when illegal items are in plain view of an officer during a traffic stop or during a routine police procedure. Items in plain view can be drugs, weapons, or stolen goods. However, plain view only comes into effect when the officer is lawfully on the premises. During a traffic stop, if a police officer arrests the driver of a vehicle, they are then allowed to search the car and its compartments for contraband and weapons without a search warrant. When a person is arrested in their house or their office building the officer is allowed to legally search the room that they arrested the suspect in and perform a protective sweep of the building to check if there are other people hiding in the building. And most importantly, a search can be conducted without a search warrant when police officers feel that the public is in danger during any emergency situations. (2) When driving onto a military base there is a clear sign that states the standing warrant that if you pass through the gates you are consenting to allowing the Military Police search your car if they feel the need to. And when you drive onto a base you are guaranteed to see at least one random car search every time. Not every situation calls for a warrant needed to search homes, papers, effects and persons with probable cause. Law enforcement is required to obtain a warrant issued by a magistrate or a judge in a court of law. If said warrant is not issued and authorities still search you, all evidence they find will be thrown out. However, there are certain terms in which a warrant is not required. The words of the Fourth Amendment give the people protection against unnecessary harassment by local, state and federal law enforcements.

Type of Genre :: essays research papers

Type of genre and its importance by "Briton Hammon" Briton Hammon's captivity narrative was a well-recognized African American prose text that was published in North America. His life has been limited to the information that is within his narrative. While reading through his prose it is still undetermined as to whether he was a servant or a slave. In his narrative he has tried to explain a life of a man of African decent and how he gets along with the public sphere and made use of the opportunities he was given. Hammon mainly discussed the issue of his suffering while he was in captivity. In the introduction he explains him and other people were brought to the shore and were suddenly attack by sixty Native Americans, "†¦but on advancing yet nearer, we found them, to our Surprize, to be Indians of which there were Sixty; being now so near them we could not possibly make our Escape." (pg 1005) He says as soon as they figured out who these people were it was already too late to escape. He also says that all their arms and necessary items were taken away from them. While reading along his narrative, Hammon describes how these Indian caused an environment of terror among these people, and how he tried to escape from these savages and was once again trapped with them. Soon he escaped from these villains by getting aboard a Spanish schooner, later he was imprisoned again in a dungeon for four years in Spain because he refused to serve their ships. After escaping that imprisonmen t Hammon worked in Cuba, which lead to his opportunity to go back to London. As said before, Hammon's life is limited to the information contained within the narrative. He had spent thirteen years of his life in captivity. Hammon's narrative is one of the best examples of genre. He chose to write a narrative so that his audience thoroughly understand the hardships that he went through while being an African decent and a captive. According to his writing he was liked were ever he went as a prisoner, which forced the Indians to request an appeal for his relief, "†¦[the Captain] came to the Prison, and ask'd the Keeper if he might see me; upon his Request I was brought out of the Dungeon†¦intercede with the Governor for my Relief†¦and the next Day the Governor sent an order to release me.

Mankind and Ethics Essay

Ethics has been a guiding principle for mankind. Ethical standards are being considered in every decision man makes. By following an ethical code, mankind knows that he is making the right decision because this ethical code ensures that there is fairness and no one will be deprived of his/her own rights. Mankind makes ethical considerations in many important decisions but there are still some major issues that arise when talking of ethical decisions. These are the issues that have ethical conflicts and man has been forever divided about these issues. Man has legislated laws that are based on human ethical values and almost all good laws have seemingly relied on this principle. One topic that has been the subject of much debate based on varying ethical considerations and existing laws is abortion. Some laws forbid abortion while others allow it because some countries may grant ethical considerations to mothers. Many ethical issues arise in abortion cases. There is a conflict between a right to life and a right of choice. The fetus inside the womb has a right to life, the right to be born into this world, while the mother has a right of choice whether she would want to continue with the pregnancy or not for some valid or invalid reason. Some choose to have abortion because of career choices or the inability to support a child. Others do not want to continue with the pregnancy which resulted from rape which may have various psychological effects (Cline). In some medical conditions, the life of both the mother and the fetus will be at risk and it would be necessary to choose who lives yet pro-life activists still argue that abortion should never be an option. This issue pits one moral principle against another moral principle but mankind has a way of dealing with this stuff. They turn to religion, but this is not always a reliable option since there are various contradicting interpretations of religious scriptures and that religion does not govern everyone. Every person has the right to choose his/her own religion and a person also has a right to be free from religion. Another similar issue is capital punishment. Many believe that the death penalty is an appropriate sentence for many heinous crimes. The criminal, having performed an act against certain moral principles, be it murder or rape, no matter how grave the crime or no matter how many people he killed, another killing is unethical and would not be unjustifiable since the existing laws prohibit killing. A wrong deed done will not correct a wrong deed done. More so, it violates a person’s right to life. Even if the criminal violated other people’s right to life, it would be unethical to kill someone on a justification that he killed others or just to get revenge. Cloning is yet another issue in which ethics plays a role. Scientists are studying therapeutic cloning for a chance to probably cure many existing incurable diseases. These scientists are only hoping to improve the life of mankind with better medical technology but many argue that experiments is playing god or is an act of killing since cloning deals with stem cells from human embryos. In these examples of controversial issues, many people have different beliefs but religion is a strong argument since many people follow a certain religion but the religious argument is not universal. These religious arguments support ethical principles. Human have different personal interest which is why there is a difference in beliefs regarding such topics. For some, abortion may be acceptable because they believe that the early stages of the fetus is not yet considered human but rather as a cluster of cells which is still a part of the female body. Others believe that life begins at the moment of conception, so the fetus is already has life. From these different perspectives, the topic becomes a huge debate based of varying ethical views (Cline). Capital punishment may have been implemented as a way to prevent people from committing brutal crimes. This is not taking a side of the issue but prison time would be a better way of serving sentences rather than death penalty because the right to life is very important and from an ethical perspective, even the rights of the accused and convicted should be respected. Humans are responsible for all their acts and the decisions that they make. Man should be guided by the code of ethics and not mislead them. Abortion, a controversial issue, is being allowed on a case-to-case basis. Abortion for medical purposes is allowed by some laws as well as abortion for pregnancies that resulted from sexual abuse. Generally, law does not allow abortion just for the sake of contraception. From this, it may be viewed that man, based on different circumstances, is responsible enough to see what is permissible under ethical standards. Likewise, very few states or countries allow for capital punishment which again connotes that man has a good understanding of the principle of right and wrong.

Capital Punishment Is Not So Easy Way Out - 892 Words

Capital Punishment a not so easy way out. Is showing the country that killing people is wrong by killing other people the right way to do it? Capital Punishment is a legal form of justice in 31 states of USA. This sentence consist in taking the life of the accused individuals as a punishment for committing atrocious crimes such as murder, rape and child abuse. Not only capital punishment is morally and ethically wrong, Capital punishment also violates our constitutional rights, it also takes the lives of innocent people and it cost more to the people living in the states that approve this punishment. Capital Punishment is should be abolish in all the states of the United States of America. Cost of Death The majority of people would certainly agree with putting an end to this individuals lives believing that is the right thing to do and probably would require less tax money. However, numerous studies have been made on the matter and the results prove that the people who believe that killing accused individuals saves money are erring. According to study conducted by Seattle University found that since 1987 the five total cases in Washington amounted to a total bill gross to the taxpayer of 120 million dollars, around 24 million per execution. In three of the five cases the accused waived some of his appeals reducing the total cost. Furthermore as reported by a Palm Beach Post study (2000) it was found that the cost to execute some of Florida worst criminals the state needsShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished1135 Words   |  5 Pagesthe execution chamber , so take a shower , eat a good meal , because the grim reaper has your name -unknown. Nobody should ever have t o hear these words. Especially coming from their own state the one that is supposed to protect their rights no matter what. 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