"Under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, an arresting officer may, without a warrant search a person validly arrested. Amendment Four to the Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791.It protects the American people from unreasonable searches and seizures. In this third episode of our 4th Doing History series, we explore the early American origins of the Fourth Amendment with Thomas Clancy. "Reasonable expectation of privacy" is a legal term that refers to the idea that individuals have a right to privacy in certain places or with certain items. (T)he Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. History is an important tool when it comes to understanding American law. Amendment law in the nineteenth century. In most cases, the Fourth Amendment prohibits law enforcement from seizing someone's cell phone without a judicial warrant granted after probable cause. It also reaffirms that a home's curtilage is entitled to this same level of protection.