The Bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments to the Constitution was proposed to Congress in 1789 by James Madison in response to the Anti-Federalist movement pushing for more rights that would further protect freedom. The 4th Amendment in particular was drafted to recognize the abuse of the writ of assistance, a “search warrant” issued by the British government to search vessels thought to contain contraband in colonial America. The 4th Amendment can be broken down into 3 parts: what activities are considered a “search” or “seizure”; what the probable cause of a “search” and “seizure” is and, finally, how violations should be treated. The evolution of the 4th Amendment is long and tumultuous, from what it meant when it was written to the controversy over different interpretations in modern times. Despite all the controversies and debates about the meaning of the 4th Amendment, the essence is still the same: to protect the liberty of man. The 4th Amendment, as we know it today, reads thus: “The right of the people to security in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrant shall be issued, except for probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The origin of the 4th Amendment dates back to pre-Revolutionary America, where Great Britain, in order to reduce the amount of contraband to and from the colonies, issued an order known as the Writs of Assistance which meant that specially appointed warrants had the right to search the homes and boats of the colonists and, if found, to seize the ban... in middle of paper... our case (Katz v. United States, 1967) the clause extended not only to the physical property of a "search", but also to the right to privacy, meaning that no police authority has the right , for example, to listen to phone calls. The “seizure” clause in the amendment has to do with taking a person's property without the person's consent. If the person does not consent, however, law enforcement has the right to go to a judge and present a case as to why the person's property should be seized. If there is sufficient evidence, the judge may sign a written "permission" allowing the warrant to search and seize a person's property even without his or her consent. To search or seize a person's property, law enforcement must present evidence to a judge in a court of law that the person has prohibited property or evidence that the person was involved in a criminal act.