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While The Machinery Of Law Enforcement And Indeed The Nature Of Crime Itself Have Changed Dramatically Since The Fourth Amendment Became Part Of The Nation's Fundamental Law In 1791, What The Framers Understood Then Remains True Today - That The Task Of Combating Crime And Convicting The Guilty Will In Every Era Seem Of Such Critical And Pressing Concern That We May Be Lured By The Temptations Of Expediency Into Forsaking Our Commitment To Protecting Individual Liberty And Privacy.

The Door Of The Free Exercise Clause Stands Tightly Closed Against Any Government Regulation Of Religious Beliefs As Such. Government May Neither Compel Affirmation Of A Repugnant Belief, Nor Penalize Or Discriminate Against Individuals Or Groups Because They Hold Views Abhorrent To The Authorities.

Our Statute Books Gradually Became Laden With Gross, Stereotyped Distinctions Between The Sexes And, Indeed, Throughout Much Of The 19th Century The Position Of Women In Our Society Was, In Many Respects, Comparable To That Of Blacks Under The Pre-civil War Slave Codes.

We Look To The History Of The Time Of Framing And To The Intervening History Of Interpretation. But The Ultimate Question Must Be, What Do The Words Of The Text Mean In Our Time.

There Can Be No Doubt That Our Nation Has Had A Long And Unfortunate History Of Sex Discrimination. Traditionally, Such Discrimination Was Rationalized By An Attitude Of "romantic Paternalism" Which, In Practical Effect, Put Women, Not On A Pedestal, But In A Cage.