Argumentative Essay: I Plead The Fourth Amendment

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I Plead the Fourth
We all know the fourth amendment. It states that we have the right to our own privacy, it protects us from illegal searches, and keeps us from being randomly placed in jail without reason.“It begins by declaring that the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”(Rohde). According to the constitution, schools don’t have the right to search students’ lockers, because it violates the rights of the average student.

The first reason why schools don’t have that right is because it violates students’ privacy. Let’s say that a student is suspected of using illegal drugs. They don’t know the name of the suspect or what locker they have, but they get a drug sniffing dog on the campus sniffing every locker. Let's also say that another student has prescription drugs in their locker for their severe stomach pains. The dog stops at that student’s locker, the officer forces the locker open, takes out that student’s things, and rummages through every bag, binder, and pocket. All …show more content…

“The Fourth Amendment is a catalogue of important personal rights that the Court has sought to interpret by balancing the right of privacy against the legitimate needs of law enforcement.... The Fourth Amendment also guarantees that “no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.”...In essence, the Court uses a standard of reasonableness based on all of the facts and circumstances surrounding a challenged search or arrest” (Rohde). Searching through lockers without the parent’s or student’s consent or their knowing violates this amendment. The officers searching through the lockers don’t have warrants, which is required by law to make a search legal. By searching through lockers without a legal warrant, parental consent, or student consent, the officers searching the lockers and students’ personal items are violating the fourth

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