Question

Which specific part of the Fourth Amendment did NSA surveillance arguably violate?

A.
“supported by Oath or affirmation”

B.
“unreasonable searches and seizures”

C.
“to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects”

D.
“no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause”

I believe its D

Answer 1

Fourth 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."

I think there's a better answer than C.

Answer 2

Do you mean there would be a better option than D?
If that's the case, I think C would be better

Answer 3

Oops! I goofed that up. Yes, C is the best answer.

Answer 4

Hi again, so I was going thru my lesson and here's what I found on this question:

"The National Security Agency (NSA) is able to wiretap American citizens without a court order.
The constitutionality of this warrantless collection of data on foreign nationals and Americans was ambiguous. In the case of an emergency, the “special needs” doctrine allows law enforcement to conduct searches without a warrant. The Supreme Court used this doctrine to rule that the NSA’s collection of data and large-scale surveillance did not violate the protections guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment."

So, with all this talk about "warrants", would it actually be D? C is certainly more all-encompassing, but it seems like they're highlighting more on the warrant part of it all. What do you think?

Answer 5

I could be wrong (I'm not a Constitutional scholar), but I'll stick with C.

Answer 6

I actually decided to go with D (since this class is very picky about copying EXACTLY what you find in the lesson... even if it's not the best answer) and D was correct. Regardless, thank you for your help :)