The Fourth Amendment covers protection against unreasonable search and seizure:
The right (1) of the people to be secure (2) in their persons, (3) houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, (4) and no Warrants (5) shall issue, but upon probable cause, (6) supported by Oath (7) or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Now, the general gist of this is that the authorities can not confiscate or search you, your home, or your belongings unless certain conditions are met first.
By now, readers know I like to clarify some definitions:
right, (1) in the context of this amendment, refers to: "a) something to which one has a just claim, or b) the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled".
secure, (2) in the context here, secure means "a) to relieve from exposure to danger, or b) to put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving"
persons, (3) used in the context of the Bill of Rights, would mean "a) bodily appearance, or b) the body of a human being; also : the body and clothing"
violated, (4) a) broken, disregarded, or b) failed to properly respect
Warrants (5) - a) a precept or writ issued by a competent magistrate authorizing an officer to make an arrest, a seizure, or a search or to do other acts incident to the administration of justice (I'll get to the reason for the highlighting of this phrase in a bit)
probable cause, (6) "a reasonable ground for supposing that a charge is well-founded"
Oath (7) "a) a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says, or b) a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words"
With these definitions being clarified, we can now grasp a deeper understanding of just what our rights are in terms of this amendment. During research for this article, I learned that over the past 200 years there has been debate concerning the term "unreasonable". Some would say that "unreasonable" is defined as any circumstance that falls outside of the second part of the Amendment. In other words SCOTUS may use the final clause: "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', to define what the first clause considers "unreasonable." Note I said "may". According to an article on Findlaw.com (8) which provides a very in-depth and well annotated look at the 4th Amendment, courts are prone to waver on using the final clause as a guide to define "unreasonable" in the first so be aware that the dice can roll either way.
One particular issue that has been discussed with application to the 4th amendment, is the "Screening Saves Lives Act 2007." This was a hot topic recently along with talk of a National DNA database. I did find the actual text of the new law and was unable to find anything in it that was of a nefarious nature. No mention of DNA collection at birth, just more funding for newborn screenings that have been done by some states since before I was born! If, in fact, such a law was passed to require collection of newborn infant's DNA to be stored in a DNA database, clearly it would be a violation of the 4th amendment. This was why I highlighted "do other acts incident to the administration of justice" It's a bit difficult to prove criminal intent in a newborn before the fact so administration of justice can not be cited in requesting a warrant and a newborn is too young to willingly relinquish his protection against illegal search and seizure.
Citations and References:
(1) "right." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right
(2) "secure." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secure
(3) "person." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/person
(4) "violate." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/violate
(5) "warrant." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warrant
(6) "probable cause." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/probable cause
(7) "oath." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 22 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oath
(8) FindLaw: U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment FindLaw.com
"The Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress prepared this document, The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. Johnny H. Killian and George A. Costello edited the 1992 Edition. Johnny H. Killian, George A. Costello and Kenneth R. Thomas edited the 1996 and 1998 Supplements. George A. Costello and Kenneth R. Thomas edited the 2000 Supplement."
