Tampa Criminal Law Newsletters & Articles

The Florida Citizens' Guide to the Fourth Amendment part 1 - The Fourth Amendment provides all American citizens with the right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures by law enforcement. It prevents police from conducting searches of your person or your property without following the correct procedure. If a police officer conducts an illegal search or seizure, then anything seized as evidence during that search will not be allowed in court and may ultimately result in the case be dismissed.

The Florida Citizens' Guide to the Fourth Amendment part 2: Stop and Search: Reasonable Suspicion vs. Consensual Encounter - 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. --Fourth Amendment, United States Constitution.