In addition to the actual texts of some of the most important Supreme Court decisions in this area, this volume provides the reader with discussions that place those decisions into their legal and historical context. While other sources provide either analysis or the text of actual Court decisions, this volume attempts to provide both in a format that will stimulate thinking and provide a general overview to this important area of constitutional law. Reading the discussion as well as the decisions is necessary for anyone who is really interested in understanding how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourth Amendment. It is assumed, however, that readers have a general understanding of how the American legal system works and the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in that system.

Other sources have discussed some of the material presented here, but such discussions usually only present one side of the debate. This volume attempts to explain as objectively as possible what the Supreme Court has ruled in this area. Supreme Court decisions are criticized here only if they do not logically follow from earlier decisions, not because they fail to live up to the author's personal beliefs about what the Court should rule in this complex area of constitutional law.

This volume discusses the major privacy and search and seizure issues that the Supreme Court has addressed. Chapter 2 examines the Court's decisions concerning what is protected by the Fourth Amendment. Chapter 3 examines the complex area of when police and other government officials may search buildings such as homes and businesses. Chapter 4 looks at when police may search and seize people while they are out in public. Chapter 5 explores the difficult area of when automobiles and baggage may be searched and seized. Chapter 6 traces the history and development of the exclusionary rule. Chapter 7 examines the right to privacy beyond search and seizure, such as the right to have an abortion.

Each of the six substantive chapters (2 through 7) is divided into three parts. The first part, "Discussion," provides an overview of the important Supreme Court decisions in a particular area to show the development of the Supreme Court's thinking over time. Each of the substantive chapters also contains excerpts from the text of Supreme Court decisions that illustrate the major issues under discussion and the logic behind the Court's thinking in each area. Discussion questions at the end of each of these chapters are intended to stimulate both thought and discussion.

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