Probable cause
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In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a se
The first page of the Constitution of the United States
Officer training a drug dog
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. It prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets requirements for issuing warrants: warrants must be issue
Probable cause
…of the arrested criminal. In the case of Berger v. New York (1967), the Supreme Court said that the purpose of the probable-cause requirement of the Fourth Amendment is to keep the state out of Constitutionally protected areas until the state has reason to believe that a specific crime is being committed or has been…
The Bill of Rights in the National Archives
The hand-written copy of the proposed Bill of Rights, 1789, cropped to show just the text that would later be ratified as the Fourth Amendment
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden established the English common law precedent against general search warrants.
Massachusetts lawyer James Otis protested British use of general warrants in the American colonies.