This is, of course, a matter of opinion. I would argue
that the 4th Amendment is not a serious blow to the 4th Amendment. As you can see in
the New York Times links below, however, others would
disagree.
The 4th Amendment specifically protects us not
against all warrantless searches and seizures but from "unreasonable searches and
seizures." So that leads us to ask whether the conduct allowed in
Terry is unreasonable. I say it is
not.
Terry does not allow the police
to simply stop and frisk whoever they would like. It requires that they see a person
acting in a way that makes the police officer suspect a crime is about to be committed.
The frisk may only be used to detect concealed weapons. It is not a general search,
just a frisk for the officer's safety.
The Fourth Amendment
does not and cannot take away all police discretion. The Terry
rule does require us to trust the police. That is not always the right thing, but it is
a reasonable thing to do under the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, the type of searches
and seizures allowed by Terry do not constitute a "serious blow to
the Fourth Amendment."
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