“Effects,” Fourth Amendment Protection of

In listing “effects” along with “persons, houses, [and] papers” that are protected against “unreasonable searches and seizures,” the Framers of the Fourth Amendment were attempting to protect items of personal property that (in contrast to real property) individuals could carry or move.

Court decisions have used the term to cover a variety of objects in a variety of contexts. In Hester v. United States (1924), the U.S. Supreme Court considered two bottles that suspects had abandoned to be effects covered by the Fourth Amendment, but it nevertheless claimed the bottles were subject to seizure because they constituted abandoned property. Similarly, in Abel v. United States (1960), the Court permitted the search of trash that an individual had left behind in a hotel room. In California v. Hodari D. (1991), it permitted the seizure of a piece of rock cocaine that a suspect threw away, and in California v. Greenwood (1988), it permitted the search of garbage that a suspect had placed on the curb for removal.

Court decisions like Chimel v. California (1969) routinely allow police to search the pockets and areas within the reach of suspects whom they arrest (albeit not entire houses, unless perhaps this is necessary to ascertain that no other armed individuals are present). Terry v. Ohio (1968) allows police to engage in stop and frisks of individuals reasonably believed to be carrying weapons. Similarly, courts routinely allow police who have a legitimate reason to stop vehicles to check both the areas within plain view and those within reach of drivers and passengers for weapons or contraband. Although cases such as Robbins v. California (1981) have attempted to distinguish between the search of vehicles and of closed containers within them, in United States v. Ross (1982), the majority have focused less on the nature of the container than on whether there was probable cause to conduct such a search. The border search exception allows for similar searches of items being brought into or out of the country. Similarly, passengers' carry-on items are routinely inspected at airports. United States v. Van Leeuwen (1970) also upheld investigators' detention of a package that had been mailed and about which they could establish reasonable suspicion of possible illegal activity (the mailing of stolen coins).

A variety of cases have allowed law enforcement officials to take and inventory items upon booking and detention. In addition to serving investigatory purposes, such inventories protect the government against subsequent charges of theft or damage.