The Illustrated Guide to Law

The comic that teaches what the law is, how it really works, and why.

5. The Fourth Amendment

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Love the comic, and thank you for following through on Oddstar’s suggestion for the “beginning of chapter” button it was my one issue with the strip. Was curious if you had read this
https://www.frtv.org/2010/06/16/constitution-free-zone-border-patrol-security-search-and-seizure-laws/
I just saw it recently (and don’t even know if it is true)

That falls under the heading of “border searches,” which we’ll discuss later in the chapter. Hang on, we’ll get there. It’s a misnomer to call it a “constitution-free zone,” though. These searches are within the bounds of what the Supreme Court has had to say on the matter. That phrase is the kind of hysterical overkill that makes it hard to take calls for reform seriously. (I think the ACLU is the one that started doing this.) And the page you linked to is so full of errors, it’s hard to even know where to start. There may well be an issue with using (constitutionally permitted) administrative searches for the purpose of catching criminals, but misinformation and hysteria aren’t the way to deal with it.

This is a joke, right? When is the last time a judge actually rejected evidence due to 4th Amendment? The constitution has been dead for decades. The cop will just lie that he had some probable cause. Every time.

Suppression of evidence happens all the time. Whenever you hear of a “technicality,” it’s usually about someone’s 4th amendment rights being trampled, which the media conveniently omits.

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