Cartoon #23

Analysis By: Kennedy Tate

What do you see or assume?
• 4th Amendment
• Uncle Sam.
• Police
• The police are going to try searching Uncle Sam.
4th Amendment

• 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.
• No Unreasonable Searches or Seizures
McKinney v. George - (1984)
• Raymond Lee McKinney – Plaintiff: Velma George, et al. - Defendants
• McKinney alleged that he had been arrested twice and committed to
a mental hospital without a good reason.
• The district judge dismissed the complaint from the Plaintiff.
McKinney then appealed and the court affirmed the district judge’s
decision. That they had probable cause to make the arrest.
• The plaintiff had open the door for the police officers when they
knocked, thus the privacy of McKinney’s home was not invaded. Also
that the reports from the mental health center and its employees
acted reasonably in not releasing the plaintiff.
State v. McMaster
 McMaster charged with three misdemeanors for possession of marijuana and other drug
paraphernalia, and a felony for possession of methamphetamine.
 An officer was watching a drug dealing spot, and saw three men being suspicious.
 After the men left the officer followed one and called on a narcotics officer to follow
another.
 After some weird driving behavior the narcotics officer stopped and did a pat-down and
search of the vehicle, and did an arrest. It all revealed drugs, weapons, and $9,000 in cash,
and drug paraphernalia.
 The court did rejected the defendants arguments of innocent explanations and that the
narcotics officer could not rely on the original officer’s observations. He was trying to
disprove the validity of the search.

 The court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found from searching, thus
carrying the court out to a guilty.
Thoughts?
• The case for McKinney was bit out there.
• I believe that the State v. McMaster case was actually very justified.

• The whole case of Searches and Seizures seems pretty straight forward..
References
• "United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)." Constitute. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

• McKinney v. George, 726 F.2d 1183 (7th Cir. Ill. 1984)

• State v. McMaster, 2008 MT 294 (Mont. 2008)