Privacy Katz Vs. United States Essays - , Term Papers

Privacy: Katz Vs. United States Katz V. The United States The petitioner Mr. Katz was arrested for illegal gambling, he had been gambling over a public phone. The FBI attached an electronic recorder onto the outside of the public phone booth. The state courts claimed this to be legal because the recording device was on the outside of the phone and the FBI never entered the booth. The Supreme Court Ruled in the favor of Katz. They stated that the Fourth Amendment allowed for the protection of a person and not just a persons property against illegal searches. The Fourth Amendment written in 1791 states, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized (Galloway 214). The court was unsure on weather or not they should consider a public telephone booth as an area protected by the fourth amendment. The court did state that: The Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected. Searches conducted without warrants have been held unlawful notwithstanding facts unquestionably showing probable cause, for the Constitution requires that the deliberate impartial judgment of a judicial officer be interposed between the citizen and the police (Maddex 201). The FBI agents found out the days and times he would use the pay phone. The FBI attached a tape recorder to the outside of the telephone booth. The FBI recorded him using the phone six different times, all six conversations were around three minutes long. They made sure that they only recorded him and not anyone elses conversations. Katz lost the case all the way up to the Supreme Court because the state courts and the Court of Appeals said there was no amendment violation since there was no physical entrance into the area occupied by the petitioner (Hall 482). The Constitutional Fourth Amendment was looked at and analyzed very carefully and the Supreme Court decided in favor of Katz with a seven to one vote. Strong arguments were brought to the stand, the Governments eavesdropping violated the privacy of Katz. The Fourth Amendment governs not only the seizure of tangible items but extends as well the recording of oral statements (Katzen 1). The surveillance in this case could have been legal by the constitution, but it was not part of the warrant issued. Warrants are very valuable to make everything stated in the fourth amendment legal. The telephone booth was made of glass so he was visible to the public, but he did not enter the booth so no one could see him, he entered the booth so no one could hear him. A person in a telephone booth is under protection of the Fourth Amendment, One who occupies it, shuts the door behind him, and pays the toll that permits him to place a call is surly entitled to assume that the words he utters into the mouthpiece will not be broadcasted to the world. To read the constitution more narrowly is to ignore the vital role that the public telephone has to come to play in private communication (Katzen 2). But with all this evidence it was still fought that the surveillance method they used involved no physical penetration into the telephone booth. The Fourth Amendment was thought to limit only searches and seizures of tangible property. The decision of the court was seven to one and Justice Marshall took no part in the decision of the case. Justice Stewart concurred in his speech that, ...these considerations do not vanish when the search in question is transferred from the setting of a home, an office, or a hotel room to that of a telephone booth. Wherever a man may be, he is entitled to know that he will remain free from unreasonable searches and seizures (Katzen 4). Justice Stewarts feelings on the case were that the use of electronic surveillance should be regulated. He thinks permission should be granted for the use of electronic surveillance. Justice Douglas, with whom Justice Brennan joined, concurred that The Fourth Amendment draws no lines between various substantive offenses. The arrests in cases of hot pursuit and

Online Bill Payment and Conservation essays

Online Bill Payment and Conservation essays The Internet has presented us with many options for managing our lives and finances. Online bill paying has become a convenient way for people to pay their bills while conserving the environment. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how online bill paying helps the world's attempt to conserve. Our discussion will focus on how online bill paying conserves the use of paper products. In addition, we will discuss the challenges that online bill paying presents. Let's begin by defining According to an article in the journal, Economic Perspective, the "no longer uses the mail system as a delivery mechanism for bill presentment and payment initiation. Instead, it uses the Internet as a speedier and less expensive delivery infrastructure to present bills electronically. (6) With the percentage of U.S. households with Internet access having increased from 26.2 percent to 41.5 percent between December 1998 and August 2000 (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2000), Internet access to bill presentment and payment options is on In other words, online bill pay allows consumers to view their bills and pay them online. The consumer can pay bills using a checking account or a credit card. They can also make inquiries concerning their accounts Many large banks have embraced online bill paying as a part of their overall business strategy. Among the leaders in Online bill pay is Bank of America. The ABA Banking Journal reports that, "Bank of Americawhich made its EBPP free last year and phased in other technical alterations to simplify the user interfacelured some 200 odd billers on board and believes, overall, that sufficient progress is being made. In fact, BofA has experienced a 112% growth in bill pay service use since last year, notes Stephanie Smith, seni...

Family Health Assesment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family Health Assesment - Essay Example This research reveals the results of family assessment concerning the present state of health. Based upon the interview, the following are the summary of the findings for each of the functional health patterns. Gordon’s 11 Areas of Functional Health Patterns is an effective tool in conducting a family assessment and formulating risk, actual, and wellness diagnoses. In addition, some of the Gordon’s 11 Areas of Functional Health Patterns assess a family’s situation through asking many open-minded, family-focused questions. The questions are outlined in this paper. Family assessment revealed verbalization of the family to increase current health state in skin integrity, bowel elimination pattern, activity-exercise pattern, sleep, social interaction, and sexuality pattern. These are called the wellness needs of the family and categorized under wellness diagnoses. Wellness diagnoses are as important as other types of diagnoses in assessing a family. It is not only ob servable problems that should be noted but the request of the family also in improving the present state of health. Much as keeping the family healthy, the family also prioritizes achieving wellness in order to function effectively in the community and to contribute to the development of the overall health status of the community. Therefore, using Gordon’s 11 Areas of Functional Health Patterns will help a lot in identifying wellness diagnoses and improving the quality of life of the family and the whole community.