Once upon a time, an illegal search or seizure resulted in a lawsuit for money damages. Colonial officials used warrants as a defense against such lawsuits. By the 1760s, agents of the Crown started searching very broadly, especially for anti-government literature and smuggled goods. In 1761, James Otis tried the famous Writs of Assistance Case in Boston. He argued that common law banned general warrants. He lost his case, but the Revolution was sparked.

When warrants fail to specify the place, person and things to be searched, you have a dragnet. When you have a dragnet, you get roadblocks, DNA tests, and warrantless wiretaps. When elites are subject to an Information Age dragnet, including congressmen, senators, presidential candidates, generals, admirals, intelligence chiefs, and business leaders, you get extortion. When every citizen’s electronic communication is monitored by artificial intelligence for words or phrases thought to be a threat to the people that happen to run the Government today, you get tyranny.