In August of 2008, a mayor of a small town arrives home and finds a package addressed to his wife on his front porch. He carries it into the house, not knowing it contains drugs. Certain traffickers had been sending packages to random people to get drugs into the country. After the mayor carries the package into the house, SWAT and narcotics officers storm the house, cuffing the man and his mother-in-law, and shooting the man’s two dogs to death—one in the back as it fled the loud noise. The officers claim to have felt threatened by the dogs. When asked to see the warrant authorizing the raid, the mayor was denied and not able to view the warrant until three days after the incident. Based on the Fourth Amendment, do you think the police action was constitutional? Explain why or why not.
a) Yes, the police action was constitutional
b) No, the police action was unconstitutional
c) Partially constitutional, partially unconstitutional
d) Insufficient information to determine
