Technology and the Fourth Amendment

This resource is an Inquiry Pack to accompany the Safeguards of Justice Timeline on LegalTimelines.org, which examines the rights of the accused and the origins and progression of Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights.

Built around primary sources from the Library of Congress and other collections, this Inquiry Pack facilitates a deep dive into an important aspect of the history of the rights of the accused in the United States.

Each Inquiry Pack includes a background reading, several primary sources (documents, articles, images), discussion questions about the sources, an inquiry question, and an inquiry extension question.

This pack includes the following components:

• Introduction: Technology and the Fourth Amendment
• Wiretapping Telephones
• Telephone Booths
• Enforcement
• Cell Phones
• Inquiry Question: How have advances in technology changed the way the search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment has been interpreted?
• Inquiry Extension Question: Research a new technology that law enforcement agencies have used to investigate crimes. How must the technology be used in order not to violate the Fourth Amendment rights of the people?
• Inquiry Question Graphic Organizer