ABSTRACT
Social contract theory as enunciated by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke states that by choosing to live among others, individuals give up some of their liberties and permit the state to intervene in their lives. The legal foundation for most criminal procedure decisions is the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Courts provide several functions. First, courts settle disputes by providing a forum for obtaining justice and resolving disputes through the application of legal rules and principles. Second, courts make public policy decisions. Third, courts serve to clarify the law through interpretation of statutes and the application of general principles to specific fact patterns. Historically, the Supreme Court paid little attention to the activities of state and local police agencies. Criminal procedure law is constantly evolving as police resort to new tactics and technologies in their war on crime.
