freedom from search and seizure
- noun
- /ˈfriːdəm frəm sɜːrtʃ ənd ˈsiːʒər/
- Formal
:
libertad de registro y confiscación
- Civil rights activists stressed the importance of protecting freedom from search and seizure.
Examples
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The Constitution guarantees freedom from search and seizure to every citizen.
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His lawyer argued that the police violated his freedom from search and seizure.
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Every citizen has the right to freedom from search and seizure.
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The freedom from search and seizure is a fundamental right.
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Under the Fourth Amendment, citizens have freedom from search and seizure without probable cause.
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The lawyer argued that his client was entitled to freedom from search and seizure during the unlawful police raid.
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Many people believe that freedom from search and seizure is essential for protecting personal privacy.
How Protected
- Formal
756
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
freedom + from + search + and + seizure
The phrase is partly compositional: 'freedom from X' clearly signals protection against X, and the words 'search' and 'seizure' individually evoke being looked for and having things taken. However, the combined expression is a conventional legal term with a specific technical scope (especially the legal sense of 'seizure') that a B1 learner who merely knows the component words may not fully understand without legal context or prior exposure.
Etymology
Freedom from search and seizure grew from people's anger when officials could walk into homes and take goods without a good reason. Here search is looking through your home and seizure is taking your things, so the phrase means 'protection against unfair searches and taking of your property'.