The Evolution of the Fourth Amendment

This book examines the history of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, and its interpretation by the Supreme Court. It concentrates on the changes in interpretation that have taken place after the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1961, decided in Mapp v. Ohio to apply the exclusionary rule, which makes illegally seized evidence inadmissible in court, to the actions of state governments. In The Evolution of the Fourth Amendment, Thomas N. McInnis demonstrates that prior to Mapp the Court relied on the warrant rule, which with limited exceptions emphasized the need to have a search warrant prior to a search or seizure. Due to the unhappiness that post-Warren Courts had with the application of the exclusionary rule, they reinterpreted the Fourth Amendment using the expansive language that the Warren Court had used in Fourth Amendment cases. In doing so, they broadened the government's powers to search and seize under the Fourth Amendment by developing new exceptions to the warrant rule, developing both the reasonableness approach and special needs test to the Fourth Amendment, limiting the expectations of privacy that citizens have, and narrowing those areas actually protected by the amendment. McInnis also examines how the Court has limited the effect of the exclusionary rule by reinterpreting when it needs to be applied and by creating new exceptions. The book ends by examining the emerging Fourth Amendment jurisprudence of the Roberts Court and assessing the future of the Fourth Amendment in a post-9/11 world.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 1. Prologue Chapter 2 2. The History of the Fourth Amendment Chapter 3 3. The Cardinal Principle of Search and Seizure Chapter 4 4. Exceptions to the Cardinal Principle Chapter 5 5. Reasonableness and the Fourth Amendment Chapter 6 6. The Exclusionary Rule of Justice Chapter 7 7. Limiting the Definition of a Search Chapter 8 8. The Future of the Fourth Amendment

About the Author :
Thomas N. McInnis is professor of political science at University of Central Arkansas and author of The Christian Burial Case: An Introduction to Criminal and Judicial Procedure.

Review :
Many observers of the Fourth Amendment suspect that its protections have declined since the Warren court days. Thomas McInnis' book confirms that observation . . . This is a very valuable work for students of the Fourth Amendment. It is well-documented, has an Index, Table of Cases, and an extensive Bibliography. McInnis' work is relatively easy reading and covers the landmark cases in a concise but clear manner.