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the problem with the 4th amendment (really with any of the amendments jefferson wrote) is that it uses vague words like 'unreasonable' and 'probable' that have
by joshAg 14y ago
the problem with the 4th amendment (really with any of the amendments jefferson wrote) is that it uses vague words like 'unreasonable' and 'probable' that have to be determined/explained in a later trial, which makes it much easier to skirt around the intended meaning of the amendment.
- paulsutter 14y agoThe meaning of those words is defined not in one trial but in 200 years of case law.
- incongruity 14y agoOne could also argue that those very same words help make the constitution a living document that defines the spirit of the law far above simply the letter of the law. Years of precedent in the form of case law do also weigh in, as others have mentioned.
- joshAg 14y agoif US judges took the same "living tree" approach to the constitution that Canadian judges do to theirs, I'd agree with you, but since they instead try and discover "original intent" I think it just unnecessarily introduces confusion over what, exactly, the original intent is/was, which allows for people, governments, and organizations to abuse both the spirit and the letter of it.
- incongruity 14y agoFrankly, anytime there is any interpretation by a human involved... wait, no, anytime there is a human involved, period, there is the opportunity for abuse of the system. Just say'n is all...
- joshAg 14y agoentirely true, but some things are easier to abuse than others, just like how every computer is theoretically hackable, but some are easier to hack than others.