Understanding Your Fourth Amendment Rights
A crash course on key Supreme Court rulings shaping your rights in the streets, in your car, at the border, and beyond.
Understanding Your Fourth Amendment Rights
Based on Myranda Kazos’ independent study guide — Read and support
The Fourth Amendment protects us from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” But what counts as unreasonable? Over the years, the courts have built a tangled web of exceptions, carve-outs, and bright-line rules — some empowering us, others eroding our rights.
This course breaks down major legal cases that define how and when cops can stop, search, or detain you — and when they can’t.
Why This Matters for Community Responders
- Know what’s legal and what’s not in high-pressure stops
- Use precedent to help others assert their rights
- Recognize unlawful police behavior
- Prepare for court challenges if rights are violated
Course Sections
1. Stops and Frisks
- Sibron v. NY: No automatic frisk after a stop
- Minnesota v. Dickerson: “Plain feel” doctrine limits what can be seized
- Arizona v. Johnson: Frisks during traffic stops must be based on suspicion
2. Traffic Stops & Occupant Orders
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms: Cops can always order a driver out
- Maryland v. Wilson: Passengers too, if nervous or suspicious
- Commonwealth v. Gonsalves: Needs an objective basis
- State v. Sprague: Consent to search ≠ coercion
3. Roadblocks & Checkpoints
- Michigan v. Sitz: Sobriety checkpoints = OK
- Indianapolis v. Edmond: Drug checkpoints ≠ OK
- Illinois v. Lidster: Info-gathering stops allowed
4. Border Searches
- U.S. v. Montoya de Hernandez: Body cavity searches require “non-routine” suspicion
- U.S. v. Ramsey: Lower expectation of privacy at international borders
- Flores-Montano: Vehicle searches at the border don't need suspicion
5. Searches With Consent
- Schneckloth v. Bustamonte: Consent must be voluntary — not necessarily informed
- Florida v. Jimeno: Scope is defined by what you say “yes” to
- State v. Lewis: You can withdraw consent at any time
- Fernandez v. California: A co-occupant can consent if you’re not present
6. Searches Incident to Arrest
- Chimel v. California: Cops can search the “grabbable area”
- Riley v. California: Phones need a warrant
- Knowles v. Iowa: Citation ≠ permission to search
7. Vehicle & Container Searches
- Carroll v. US: Cars can be searched without a warrant if mobile
- California v. Acevedo: Containers inside cars can be searched with probable cause
- Wyoming v. Houghton: Passengers' containers too
8. Emergency & Exigent Circumstances
- Cupp v. Murphy: Short-lived evidence = quick action allowed
- Warden v. Hayden: Hot pursuit allows home entry
- Minnesota v. Olson: Felony warrant ≠ emergency by default
9. Inventory Searches
- South Dakota v. Opperman: Car impound = allowed to inventory
- Florida v. Wells: No standard policy = no random searching
10. Custodial Settings & DNA
- Hudson v. Palmer: Prison = less privacy
- Maryland v. King: DNA swabs OK after arraignment, not before
- Florence v. Freeholders: Strip searches for all arrests? Upheld.
Source
This course is adapted from a comprehensive study guide by independent journalist Myranda Kazos, based on her criminal procedure coursework.
Support her work:
➡️ Myranda LinkTree
➡️ Substack: Myranda @myrandapolisci
Tools You’ll Leave With
- Cheat sheet of case law to assert your rights
- Field scenarios with correct legal citations
- Awareness of cop tactics and legal boundaries
Let’s be clear: knowing your rights doesn’t always protect you. But not knowing them guarantees you’ll be played. Study up. Fight smarter. Protect each other.
📘 Knowledge Check
What is the central protection provided by the Fourth Amendment?
Police can always frisk someone after a stop without suspicion, according to Sibron v. NY.
Which rulings define when officers can order drivers or passengers out of a vehicle?
Which Supreme Court case held that sobriety checkpoints are constitutional?
Border searches carry the same expectation of privacy as searches conducted away from borders.
Under Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, what makes consent to a search valid?
Which rulings restrict warrantless searches during or after an arrest?
Which case allows warrantless searches of cars if they are mobile and there is probable cause?
Inventory searches of impounded vehicles are always lawful, even without a standard policy.
Which rulings set limits or permissions for invasive searches and detention conditions?
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