The United States Supreme Court and the Fourth Amendment: Evolution from Warren to Post-Warren Perspectives

In the last 25 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's treatment of Fourth Amendment issues has undergone a shift in philosophy that has resulted in a conservative body of search and seizure law that is very different from the more liberal search and seizure law that was developed by the Warren Court in the 1960s. This article examine the most important Fourth Amendment cases decided by die Ware Court and by the post-Warren Court (1975-2000). The article concludes that the post-Warren Court (a)has been very pro-police in its approach to Fourth Amendment issues, (b) ha developed a body of conservative case law in this area while over turning only one of the controversial Warren Court decisions, (c) has often made only minor changes to Fourth Amendment jurisprudence that have nevertheless conveyed a message that constitutional restraints on the police have been relaxed, and (d) has been consistent in its conservative approach to Fourth Amendment issues.