Writing Resources
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified in the late 18th century as a part of the Bill of Rights The amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of individuals and property In the second half of the 20th century with both Democrats and Republicans gaining majorities in the Supreme Court cases arose where exceptions to the Fourth Amendment were made I disagree with the decisions made in these cases as not only do they violate the Fourth Amendment but they disproportionately affected the minority populations of the United States notably the African American and the Latino The Supreme Court ruled in Terry v Ohio 1968 that stop and frisks do not constitute a violation of the Fourth Amendment s restriction on unreasonable searches and seizures Chief Justice Earl Warren argued for the majority that officers had the authority to conduct a limited search of anyone s persons when they deemed an individual to be engaged in suspicious behavior that raised officers inquiry
