Lesson 31: How Do the Fourth and Fifth Amendments Protect against Unreasonable Law Enforcement Procedures?

Primary Sources


Bill of Rights, as submitted for ratification

The Bill of Rights as it was submitted to the states for ratification. It included a preamble and ten proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Link: https://bit.ly/2odaRsY


English Bill of Rights 1689

Act passed by the British Parliament in 1689 enumerating rights of British subjects and residents.

Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/england.asp


Habeas Corpus Act 1679

The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an act of the English Parliament defining and strengthening habeas corpus, by which a detainee who has appealed to the judiciary must either be set free or have a charge brought against him.

Link: http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item104236.html


Magna Carta

From Wikipedia: Magna Carta, is an English legal charter, originally issued in 1215. Magna Carta required King John to proclaim certain rights, respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be restricted by the law.

Link: http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm


Massachusetts Body of Liberties, 1641

From Wikipedia: The Massachusetts Body of Liberties was the first legal code to be established by European colonists in New England.

Link: https://history.hanover.edu/texts/masslib.html


Miranda Warning

From Wikipedia: A Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the U.S. to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are interrogated.

Link: http://www.usconstitution.net/miranda.html


Petition of Right

From Wikipedia: The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document, which sets out specific liberties of the subject that the king is prohibited from infringing.

Link: http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/petition.html


The Constitution of Massachusetts 1780

The Massachusetts Constitution provided the framework followed by the United States Constitution.

Link: http://bit.ly/tNYAR


United States Bill of Rights

From Wikipedia: In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three quarters of the states.

Link: http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm


United States Constitution

The supreme law of the United States that provides the framework for the government. The Constitution outlines the nation's institutions of government and the most important rights of the people. The document was created in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention. The government created by the Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789.

Link: http://civiced.org/constitution


Virginia Declaration of Rights

Virginia Declaration of Rights

Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/virginia.asp