General Warrants, NSA Spying, And America's Unappreciated Founding Father, James Otis, Jr.

Today is a day when we Americans reflect on the people and principles that led to our founding. I'd like to write a bit about one of my favorite founding fathers, an 18th-century Boston lawyer named James Otis, Jr. Because he did most of his important work well before the American Revolution, Otis is often overlooked. But no less than John Adams credited Otis' activism with laying the philosophical foundation for American independence. Moreover, the specific abuses by the British crown that most outraged Otis are particularly relevant given the recent revelations about warrantless NSA spying and data collection.
Starting in the early 1760s, the British courts that had been established in the colonies began issuing a general warrant called a writ of assistance. General warrants authorize broad search powers. For example, a general warrant might give authorities permission to conduct searches to enforce an entire class of crimes rather than authorizing them to search a specific person or residence for evidence of a specific criminal act.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/04/james-otis_n_3547302.html?utm_hp_ref=the-agitator