Citizen
Founder's Club Member
Whew! Almost missed it! Hat tip to John Hall at www.fourthamendment.com
Today is the 243rd anniversary of James Otis' arguments against Writs of Assistance in the Paxton case.
A Writ of Assistance was a pre-arranged general search warrant that pre-authorized the king's agents to enter any shop or home and search it for goods upon which taxes had not been paid. No probable cause needed. The agent could call on others nearby to assist him in the search, thus Writs of Assistance.
The previous writ in Paxton's jurisdiction had expired--they expired six months after the king's death. So, the court was considering whether to prevent the writ from being renewed. James Otis just arrived in the court--he represented none of the parties--and argued against the writ on behalf of the people. He went on for something like four hours.
A young lawyer was in the courtroom that day--John Adams. Years later he said the spark of revolution was born that day in that courtroom.
Historians can trace a direct link between that courtroom and the Fourth Amendment. I forget the connection. Perhaps John Adams recommended the 4A to James Madison, or maybe recommended it to his state's committee making up proposals to send to Madison for inclusion in a bill of rights.
The history on this right is interesting, and brief. Well worth taking some time and googling it or checking wiki. For example, contemporaries complained that the searchers were the lowest sort--common, vulgar, rude. You get the idea they were people who couldn't find a productive job doing much else. (Sound familiar?) Also, based on the history, apparently locks were comparatively expensive back then; people complained about broken locks a good bit.
If you have the budget ($20?) there is a good paperback. The Origins of the Bill of Rights by Leonard Levy. There's a bonus--Levy addresses the history of more than just the 4A. Lots of great info in that book.
Finally, I can't say enough about fourthamendment.com. Great blog. Tons of cases. He selects a few recent cases each day and then posts a quick one or two sentences about each. Fair warning, though. Don't blame me if you start losing sleep from reading his blog and seeing what courts are doing to the 4A day in and day out.
Today is the 243rd anniversary of James Otis' arguments against Writs of Assistance in the Paxton case.
A Writ of Assistance was a pre-arranged general search warrant that pre-authorized the king's agents to enter any shop or home and search it for goods upon which taxes had not been paid. No probable cause needed. The agent could call on others nearby to assist him in the search, thus Writs of Assistance.
The previous writ in Paxton's jurisdiction had expired--they expired six months after the king's death. So, the court was considering whether to prevent the writ from being renewed. James Otis just arrived in the court--he represented none of the parties--and argued against the writ on behalf of the people. He went on for something like four hours.
A young lawyer was in the courtroom that day--John Adams. Years later he said the spark of revolution was born that day in that courtroom.
Historians can trace a direct link between that courtroom and the Fourth Amendment. I forget the connection. Perhaps John Adams recommended the 4A to James Madison, or maybe recommended it to his state's committee making up proposals to send to Madison for inclusion in a bill of rights.
The history on this right is interesting, and brief. Well worth taking some time and googling it or checking wiki. For example, contemporaries complained that the searchers were the lowest sort--common, vulgar, rude. You get the idea they were people who couldn't find a productive job doing much else. (Sound familiar?) Also, based on the history, apparently locks were comparatively expensive back then; people complained about broken locks a good bit.
If you have the budget ($20?) there is a good paperback. The Origins of the Bill of Rights by Leonard Levy. There's a bonus--Levy addresses the history of more than just the 4A. Lots of great info in that book.
Finally, I can't say enough about fourthamendment.com. Great blog. Tons of cases. He selects a few recent cases each day and then posts a quick one or two sentences about each. Fair warning, though. Don't blame me if you start losing sleep from reading his blog and seeing what courts are doing to the 4A day in and day out.
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