Arlen Specter: “No, but I will at the conclusion of my presentation. We ought to focus for a few moments on the importance of judicial…”

“No, but I will at the conclusion of my presentation. We ought to focus for a few moments on the importance of judicial review on the fourth amendment issues of search and seizure. With the limited time I have left, I have only a few references, but I begin with a famous case in 1761 where a Boston lawyer defended Boston merchants who had been searched by customs house officials. James Otis gave a stirring 5-hour speech, charging the customs officers ``break locks, bars, and everything in their way; and whether they break through malice or revenge, no man, no court may inquire.'' Very weighty words in 1761. Maybe if James Otis had seen this program, we could take his word on its constitutionality. John Adams described this case as the spark of the American Revolution. He stated: Then and there was the child Independence born. Then in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it is stated that one of the key reasons for the American Revolution involved the King allowing his officers to violate the rights of Americans and then protecting them ``by a mock trial, from punishment,'' for the injuries that they had committed. And then we have the fourth amendment. We need to go back to the basics of this amendment, which prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. That is the question in this matter. In 1916, in the Weeks case, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that evidence obtained in violation of the fourth amendment could not be used in a criminal trial.…”