Cite as: 526 U. S. 559 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
erty that has been used in violation of the Act. Ibid. According to the court, the fact that the police develop probable cause to believe that such a violation occurred does not, standing alone, justify a warrantless seizure. The court expressly rejected the holding of the Eleventh Circuit, see United States v. Valdes, 876 F. 2d 1554 (1989), and the majority of other Federal Circuits to have addressed the same issue in the context of the federal civil forfeiture law, 21 U. S. C. § 881, which is similar to Florida's. See United States v. Decker, 19 F. 3d 287 (CA6 1994) (per curiam); United States v. Pace, 898 F. 2d 1218, 1241 (CA7 1990); United States v. One 1978 Mercedes Benz, 711 F. 2d 1297 (CA5 1983); United States v. Kemp, 690 F. 2d 397 (CA4 1982); United States v. Bush, 647 F. 2d 357 (CA3 1981). But see United States v. Dixon, 1 F. 3d 1080 (CA10 1993); United States v. Lasanta, 978 F. 2d 1300 (CA2 1992); United States v. Linn, 880 F. 2d 209 (CA9 1989). We granted certiorari, 525 U. S. 1000 (1998), and now reverse.
II
The Fourth Amendment guarantees "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," and further provides that "no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause." U. S. Const., Amdt. 4. In deciding whether a challenged governmental action violates the Amendment, we have taken care to inquire whether the action was regarded as an unlawful search and seizure when the Amendment was framed. See Wyoming v. Houghton, ante, at 299; Carroll v. United States, 267 U. S. 132, 149 (1925) ("The Fourth Amendment is to be construed in light of what was deemed an unreasonable search and seizure when it was adopted, and in a manner which will conserve public interests as well as the interests and rights of individual citizens").
In Carroll, we held that when federal officers have probable cause to believe that an automobile contains contraband,
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