Fourth Amendment Limitations

Fourth Amendment Limitations

Learn about how the Fourth Amendment's search-and-seizure requirements limit agency actions, such as administrative inspections.

Transcript

Administrative agencies are often authorized to conduct inspections of workplaces and other locations to search for regulatory violations. How does the Fourth Amendment apply to administrative inspections? Generally, agencies must obtain a warrant prior to conducting an administrative inspection. However, the showing for obtaining the warrant is different than the showing of probable cause necessary to obtain a criminal search warrant. The administrative agency doesn’t need to...