Katz v. United States

Katz v. United States was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that significantly impacted the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In this case, the Court ruled that the government's electronic surveillance of a person in a public phone booth constituted a search and seizure. This decision established that the Fourth Amendment protects people, not just places, and that a reasonable expectation of privacy is key to determining if a search has occurred. This means that even in a public space, if a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, their conversations are protected from warrantless government intrusion.12