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See v. City of Seattle - Significance, Protection From Administrative Searches, Impact, Related Cases

Appellant

See

Appellee

City of Seattle

Appellant's Claim

That the city of Seattle Fire Department must have a search warrant consistent with the safeguards against unreasonable search offered by the Fourth Amendment to perform a fire code inspection of a locked private warehouse.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Norman Dorsen

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

A. L. Newbould

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Abe Fortas, Earl Warren, Byron R. White (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting

Tom C. Clark, John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

5 June 1967

Decision

Upheld See's claim and overturned two lower courts' decisions allowing entry by the fire department over the owner's objections without a warrant.

Further Readings

  • Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt. Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1997.
  • "FAA Plans Tough Action Against Illegal Parts." Aviation Week & Space Technology, October 23, 1995.
  • New York Times, April 17, 1994.
  • "The Heat Seekers--Use of Thermal Imagery in Law Enforcement." The Nation, October 16, 1995.

Additional Topics

See v. City of Seattle - Significance

The ruling established an administrative warrant system to conduct health and safety inspections at private business properties not open to the public. To avoid violating the Fourth Amendment, a city must demonstrate reasonableness by submitting its formal procedures for conducting such inspections to a magistrate. Since the See ruling, the Court identified several exceptions not requiring warrant…

See v. City of Seattle - Protection From Administrative Searches

The Court found in favor of See by a 6-3 vote. Justice White, writing on behalf of the majority, wrote that the Court saw no reason to distinguish between the need for administrative entry for enforcement of commercial property standards and police entry. Both need Fourth Amendment safeguards. Similarly, the Court found in Camara that inspection of a private dwelling also required a warrant. These…

See v. City of Seattle - Impact

The rulings of See and Camara broadened application of Fourth Amendment protection. They established that fire, health, and building inspections were "searches." Therefore, government officials must obtain warrants for administrative entry for both private residences and commercial properties not open to the public. However, the Court also created substantially new and different standards for obt…

See v. City of Seattle - Related Cases

Terry v. Ohio - Significance, The Supreme Court Decision, Stop And Frisk Searches [next] [back] Maryland Penitentiary v. Hayden Warden - Significance, Impact

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