Know your Fourth Amendment rights
Being familiar with your own rights as a citizen of a state should be at the very core of your personal education.
A state does not wish its people to know their rights, as it is much easier to get away with impunity and have absolute power when the citizens are ignorant of their rights.
The public education system in the United States, of which I have experience with the Texas variant, briefly touches on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America. The very documents of which our entire Legal and Governmental structure are founded on deserve no more than a glance if you take it from the state run education system.
Since so many people fail to learn about those documents on their own, it has become easy for rights to be violated by those in power. The violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States is one that everyone can help to put a stop to.
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.
The Fourth Amendment specifies that any warrant must be judicially sanctioned for a search or an arrest. Warrants must be supported by probable cause with a limited scope specified by information given to a judge, normally through a law enforcement officer.
The Fourth Amendment only applies to government entities such as law enforcement and government agents. It does not guarantee a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizure conducted by private citizens or organizations. This is why you cannot board an air craft without being searched and why being searched by your employer is legal.
One of the places that we can fight unreasonable searches is the court house.
Recently I received a jury summons. I have no problem with sitting in on jury duty and fulfilling the role of a defunct legal system. I do however have issue with my person being searched without reason. Since the court system falls under government jurisdiction, without a warrant they have no rights to search you.
When I arrived at the metal detectors I informed that Sheriff that I would not consent to be searched based upon my Fourth Amendment right to do so. He promptly informed me that if I did not proceed I would be held in contempt of court. I inquired if he could provide documentation signed by the court to that effect. He left his station and went to talk to a nearby official.
I do not know the conversation that was had, but I can guess it went something to the effect of the official telling the Sheriff that he has no right to search me and to release me. Upon returning the Sheriff inquired if I needed a note for work and dismissed me.
There were three possible outcomes in this situation. The first being he returns with a document signed by the court stating that I would be required to be searched. If this were the case I would have well been within my rights to hire a lawyer to defend myself against a Bill of Rights violation. The second outcome would have been to allow me to enter without being searched and provide an escort (which I inquired about them doing and was turned down). They would not endorse this due to the high visibility of the act. Other jurors would undoubtedly inquire as to why I had a police escort with me throughout the day. The court gets away with a majority of its fallacies due to uninformed participants.
The third outcome was what I expected and that was a release of obligation to jury duty. This was my latest experience with the jury system and armed with knowledge of the law I not only educated myself but also a rather irritated Sheriff.
This event affirmed a truth in my mind: we must not let misguided government fear of the unknown to infringe on our rights at citizens. Any system dependent on the ignorance of those involved is inherently flawed and should be restructured, or it will facilitate and thus encourage tyranny.
by Gostimir