GOVERNMENT POWERS DON'T TRUMP RIGHTS

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

It might be hard to believe, but sometimes all that stands between
justice and injustice is the preceding 54 words.

Those words, of course, make up the Fourth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. The people who composed them wanted to draw some very
distinct, very important lines beyond which certain agents of the
government could not stray.

Was it because the people who wrote the Constitution were against law
and order? Absolutely not. Drawing on their experiences with a
repressive monarchy, the architects of America recognized that for
their country to be truly free, law and order must apply to the
government as well as the governed.

Now that the impromptu civics lesson is over, here's what it means to
you.

Police agencies across the country employ different strategies to
fight the scourge of crime. Sometimes they include aggressive tactics,
such as conducting "sweeps" through an area where illegal activities
are known or suspected to be going on.

Their diligence and dedication are worthy of our admiration. However,
it's important to remember the implicit message in those 54 words: The
government has power, but you also have rights.

The Constitution stands as a firewall against government power.
Searches and seizures must have the support of reason and adherence to
certain legal processes. That's not a loophole for lawbreakers. It's a
right guaranteed to citizens. Certainly, the majority of police
officers everywhere respect that right. Still, it's important for
people to know its significance.

The cost of crime is incalculable, both in material terms and in the
amount of human suffering it causes. In a perfect world it would be
eradicated. In our imperfect world, however, we have to live with
crime and all the questions that arise from it.

And in the areas where the fight against crime and our rights
intersect, those questions do not have simple, yes-no answers.