Historically, the Fourth Amendment has stood as an important bulwark of protection of personal liberties, but in recent years, issues of homeland security, profiling, and surveillance have provoked impassioned debates. Are contemporary interpretations of Fourth Amendment guarantees faithful to the historical origins of the Amendment? What is the current status of protection?

A timely, historical look at Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, covering more than two centuries of search-and-seizure law, from landmark judicial decisions to enduring controversies.

Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Rights and Liberties under the Law provides a comprehensive exploration of the development of the Fourth Amendment from the late 18th century to the present. The work clearly explains complex legal questions and pivotal judicial decisions, illustrating the controversial nature of Fourth Amendment issues and differentiating between reasonable and unreasonable searches and seizures.

Presenting a wealth of cases and examples, the authors analyze important developments, such as the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Weeks v. United States (prohibiting federal courts from admitting evidence obtained in violation of the Amendment), the expansion of Fourth Amendment protections in the 1960s, the apparent weakening of rights since the early 1970s, and the contraction of the exclusionary rule in response to the war on drugs and the war on terror.

• A–Z listing of key individuals, historical events, and landmark court cases, including Boyd v. United States, the chief justiceship of Earl Warren, the Rehnquist Court, the war on drugs, and the war on terrorism
• Excerpts from critical primary documents, court decisions, and statutory provisions