Editing Probable cause (section)

==Probationers and parolees==
In early cases in the United States, the Supreme Court held that when a person is on probation, the standard required for a search to be lawful is lowered from "probable cause" to "reasonable grounds"<ref>''[[Griffin v. Wisconsin]]'', {{ussc|483|868|1987}}</ref> or "reasonable suspicion". Specifically, the degree of individualized suspicion required of a search was a determination of when there is a sufficiently high probability that criminal conduct is occurring to make the intrusion on the individual's privacy interest reasonable. The Supreme Court held in ''[[United States v. Knights (2001)|United States v. Knights]]'':

{{quote|Although the Fourth Amendment ordinarily requires the degree of probability embodied in the term "probable cause," a lesser degree satisfies the Constitution when the balance of governmental and private interests makes such a standard reasonable&nbsp;... When an officer has reasonable suspicion that a probationer subject to a search condition is engaged in criminal activity, there is enough likelihood that criminal conduct is occurring that an intrusion on the probationer's significantly diminished privacy interests is reasonable.<ref>''[[United States v. Knights]]'', {{ussc|534|112|2001}}.</ref>}}

Later, in ''[[Samson v. California]]'', the Supreme Court ruled that reasonable suspicion is not even necessary:

{{quote|The [[California Legislature]] has concluded that, given the number of inmates the State paroles and its high recidivism rate, a requirement that searches be based on individualized suspicion would undermine the State's ability to effectively supervise parolees and protect the public from criminal acts by reoffenders. This conclusion makes eminent sense. Imposing a reasonable suspicion requirement, as urged by petitioner, would give parolees greater opportunity to anticipate searches and conceal criminality.}}

The court held that reasonableness, not individualized suspicion, is the [[Touchstone (metaphor)|touchstone]] of the Fourth Amendment.<ref>''[[Samson v. California]]'', {{ussc|547|843|2006}}.</ref> It has been proposed that Fourth Amendment rights be extended to probationers and parolees, but such proposals have not gained traction.<ref>{{citation |volume=39|publisher=Hastings L. J.|pages=449|date=1987–1988|title=Right of All the People to be Secure: Extending Fundamental Fourth Amendment Rights to Probationers and Parolees, The|author=Koshy, Sunny A. M. |url=http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/hastlj39&section=23}}</ref> There is not much that remains of the Fourth Amendment rights of probationers after waiving their right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.<ref>{{citation|volume=35|publisher=Santa Clara L. Rev.|pages=1237|date=1994–1995|title=Fourth Amendment Rights of Probationers: What Remains after Waiving Their Right to be Free from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, The|author=Kneafsey, Sean M.|url=http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/saclr35&section=51}}</ref> An essay called "They Released Me from My Cage...But They Still Keep Me Handcuffed" was written in response to the ''Samson'' decision.<ref>{{citation|volume=4|publisher=Ohio St. J. Crim. L.|pages=541|date=2006–2007|title=They Released Me from My Cage...But They Still Keep Me Handcuffed: A Parolee's Reaction to Samson v. California|author=Binnall, James M.|url=http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/osjcl4&section=33}}</ref>

It has been argued that the requirement that a police officer must have individualized suspicion before searching a parolee's person and home was long considered a foundational element of the Court's analysis of Fourth Amendment questions and that abandoning it in the name of crime prevention represents an unprecedented blow to individual liberties.<ref>{{citation|volume=42|publisher=Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev.|pages=223|year=2007|title=Samson v. California: Tearing down a Pillar of Fourth Amendment Protections|author=Cacace, Robert|url=http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/hcrcl42&section=11}}</ref>