—origin and history [of the Fourth Amendment] clearly show that it was intended as a restraint upon the activities of sovereign authority, and was not intended to be a limitation upon other than governmental agencies ".

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by government actors.

The proscriptions of the Fourth Amendment and Article I, § 8, do not apply to searches and seizures conducted by private individuals.

The Fourth Amendment gives protection against unlawful searches and seizures, and... its protection applies to governmental action.

The federal exclusionary rules apply to evidence that the federal government or a state government obtained in violation of the US Constitution.

Justice Brandeis observed that "in the development of our liberty insistence upon procedural regularity has been a large factor

—the Supreme Court has distinguished between government agents and private parties for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

In that regard, "a private party may conduct a search that would be unconstitutional if conducted by the government."

There are, however, several Court opinions which assume in dicta the relevance of the Fifth Amendment privilege to confessions.