The Fourth Amendment Is Supposed to Work for the People, Not the Government (New at Reason)

Young America fought a revolution against its colonial master, in great part to get rid of the system of general warrants which allowed the government to search and seize the property of private citizens without individualized suspicion or probable cause.

When the war was won and the constitution written, Andrew Napolitano writes, “The Fourth Amendment was expressly written to protect our individual right to privacy from the voracious and insatiable appetite of government to assault it.”

In his new column, Napolitano argues that when FBI Director James Comey recently testified before a Senate committee to make the case that the Bureau should have access to citizens’ internet browser history, Comey effectively said “the Fourth Amendment is a pain in the neck and his agents could operate more efficiently without it.”

To which Napolitano retorts, “Wake up, America. The Fourth Amendment is supposed to be a pain in the neck for the government.”

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