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SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS

PRIVACY RIGHTS IN WASHINGTON

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    • If the police do not enter your home, do they have the right to look in through your windows without a warrant?
    • Do the police have the right to go through your trash?
    • Does your school have the right to drug test you?
  1. Do state governments have the right to pass more restrictive or lenient laws than the federal government?

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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

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“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 TO US CONSTITUTION

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    • Supreme Court interprets meaning
    • Decisions bind future cases
    • Creates consistency in law

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JUDICIAL PRECEDENT

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STATE LAWS AND THEIR CONSTITUTIONS PROVIDE THEIR INHABITANTS WITH MORE RIGHTS THAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!

BUT ...

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ARTICLE 1, SECTION 7

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"No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law."

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WASHINGTON STATE CONSTITUTION

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    • No mention of the word unreasonable, which the courts have taken to mean that ALL searches and seizures must have the “authority of law”.
    • “Authority of law” implies that a warrant will need to be obtained before a search is issued.

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SEARCH AND SEIZURE IN WASHINGTON STATE

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WASHINGTON SUPREME COURT

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    • State of Washington v. Boland (1990)
      • Can law enforcement go through your trash if it is in your garbage can on the street?
    • State of Washington v. Young (1994)
      • Can law enforcement use thermal heat sensors to detect what is inside your home?
    • York v. Wahkiakum School District (2008)
      • Can a school randomly test student athletes without suspicion?

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CASE STUDIES

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    • What precedents were established by these three cases?
    • What can law enforcement agents in Washington NOT do that FEDERAL law enforcement agents CAN do?
    • Why would judicial precedents be overturned?
    • Do you think that states should be able to have higher standards for privacy than the federal government? Why or why not?

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FINAL DISCUSSION