Otis’ battle against warrantless searches led to our Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable government intrusion. He condemned these general warrants as “the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles of law, that ever w found in an English law book.” Otis objected to these writs of assistance because they “placed the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer.” The Fourth Amendment was intended to guarantee that only judges-not soldiers or policemen-would issue warrants.
James Otis argued against general warrants and writs of assistance that were issued by British soldiers without judicial review and that did not name the subject or items to be searched. Senator from Kentucky in 2010, to his colleagues in the Senate in 2011 and answer the questions that follow. Handout C: Senator Rand Paul’s Letter of Opposition to the Patriot Act, February 15, 2011ĭirections: Read the passages below from a letter written by Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist who was elected as a U.S.
