Malcolm Rivera
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule that prevents evidence collected or analysed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. The rule is designed to provide a remedy and disincentive for criminal prosecution from prosecutors and police who illegally gather evidence in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination. The exclusionary rule also protects against violations of the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to counsel. While the exclusionary rule is not explicitly mentioned in the text of the Constitution, it has been applied by the Supreme Court as a way to enforce the Fourth Amendment and other constitutional rights.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To prevent unreasonable searches and seizures |
| To deter police misconduct | |
| To provide a remedy for violations of the Fourth Amendment and other constitutional rights | |
| To prevent criminal prosecution from prosecutors and police who illegally gather evidence | |
| To prevent evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law | |
| To prevent violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment | |
| Application | Applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment |
| Applies to violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment | |
| Applies to the states, per Mapp v. Ohio | |
| Applies to evidence obtained through warrantless searches by police | |
| Applies only if the illegal search violated the person's own constitutional rights | |
| Applies to evidence obtained by illegal coercion, per Ceglinski v. Orr | |
| Criticism | Allegedly defies the original intent of the Constitution |
| Does not indicate that illegally seized evidence must be excluded |
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What You'll Learn
The exclusionary rule and the Fourth Amendment
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule based on constitutional law that prevents evidence collected or analysed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. It is grounded in the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, which states:
> "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
The Fourth Amendment provides for a warrant system intended to prevent unreasonable searches and seizures. However, the exclusionary rule evolved due to the ineffectiveness of the warrant procedure in preventing illegal searches and seizures. It was adopted by the courts as a rule of evidence to deal with the failure of the warrant system to address after-the-fact Fourth Amendment violations. The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy and deterrent, not an independent constitutional right. It is intended to deter law enforcement officers from conducting searches or seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment and to provide remedies to defendants whose rights have been infringed.
The exclusionary rule helps to deter police misconduct and provides a remedy for violations of the Fourth Amendment and other constitutional rights important to criminal cases. It also applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment. These rights, emphasised in Miranda v. Arizona, are essential for those accused of a crime. Unless an exception applies, the evidence will not be admissible at trial. For example, if a weapon in a murder case is found due to an illegal search, prosecutors cannot show it to the jury or use their knowledge of it as part of their case.
There are several exceptions to the exclusionary rule. For instance, the good-faith exception, where evidence is not excluded if it is obtained by officers who reasonably rely on a search warrant that is later found to be invalid. Another exception is that illegally obtained evidence may be admissible to attack the defendant's credibility on cross-examination, at least where necessary to prevent gamesmanship.
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Exclusionary rule vs. Warickshall rule
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule, grounded in the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, that prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. It is intended to protect citizens from illegal searches and seizures. The exclusionary rule also applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment declares the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. Evidence obtained through warrantless searches by police may be deemed inadmissible at trial, referred to as the "fruit of the poisonous tree," a concept central to the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule is a court-created remedy and deterrent, not an independent constitutional right. It is designed to deter law enforcement officers from conducting searches or seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment and to provide remedies to defendants whose rights have been infringed.
The Exclusionary Rule applies to all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States, regardless of whether they are citizens, immigrants (legal or illegal), or visitors. It is worth noting that the rule does not prevent the government from introducing illegally gathered evidence to "impeach" or attack the credibility of defendants' testimony at trial. This exception was recognized in Harris v. New York as a truth-testing device to prevent perjury.
Now, coming to the Warickshall rule, it is questionable whether the rule became known in the United States before 1789 when the U.S. Bill of Rights was written. In the Warickshall case, evidence was gathered as a result of an involuntary confession, and the court held that the evidence, but not the confession itself, could be admitted. Generally speaking, English law before 1789 did not provide as strong an exclusionary rule as the one that later developed under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, regarding unlawful searches and seizures.
Thus, the exclusionary rule and the Warickshall rule differ in their applicability and scope. While the exclusionary rule is a legal rule in the United States that prevents evidence collected in violation of constitutional rights, the Warickshall rule, which may not have been known in the US before 1789, deals with the admissibility of evidence obtained through involuntary confessions. The exclusionary rule provides a stronger protection against unlawful searches and seizures, while the Warickshall rule focuses on the admissibility of evidence obtained through a specific type of involuntary confession.
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The Fifth Amendment and self-incrimination
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution contains the Self-Incrimination Clause, which provides various protections against self-incrimination. This clause protects criminal defendants from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through their testimony. The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies when an individual is called to testify in a legal proceeding, whether in a federal or state court, and whether the proceeding is criminal or civil.
The Fifth Amendment also protects individuals from being compelled to produce incriminating documents or other evidence, but only when the accused is compelled to make a testimonial communication that is incriminating. For example, a court order compelling a target of a grand jury investigation to authorize foreign banks to disclose their bank records is not considered testimonial in nature and is therefore not protected by the Fifth Amendment.
The right against self-incrimination also extends beyond the courtroom to any situation involving the curtailment of personal freedom. In the landmark case Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the United States Supreme Court held that the Self-Incrimination Clause requires police to issue a Miranda warning to criminal suspects interrogated while in police custody. These rights include the right to remain silent, the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and the right to have a government-appointed attorney if the suspect cannot afford one.
The exclusionary rule, which is grounded in the Fourth Amendment, also applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. The exclusionary rule prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. This rule serves to deter police misconduct and provide a remedy for violations of constitutional rights. For example, evidence obtained through an illegal search may be deemed inadmissible at trial, referred to as the "fruit of the poisonous tree."
While the Fifth Amendment originally only applied to federal courts, the Supreme Court has partially incorporated it into state law through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This includes the right against self-incrimination, which has been interpreted to apply in state courts through the incorporation doctrine of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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The Sixth Amendment and right to counsel
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to counsel in criminal prosecutions, regardless of the defendant's ability to pay. This right is offence-specific and is not violated when an attorney refuses to cooperate with the defendant in presenting perjured evidence at trial. The right to counsel is also not violated when the police secure Miranda waivers and interview a defendant without informing them that their attorney has been contacted.
The right to counsel typically attaches at the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings, which is usually the first formal charging proceeding. However, there is controversy over when the right to counsel attaches in the process of criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to counsel implies the right to effective counsel, which entails zealous advocacy for the defendant. The effectiveness of counsel is measured by the purpose of the constitutional guarantee, which is to ensure a fair trial where evidence is subjected to adversarial testing and produces a reliable result.
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule that prevents evidence collected or analysed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. It is based on constitutional law and is intended to provide a remedy for violations of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The exclusionary rule also applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.
The rule serves to deter police misconduct and deliberate, reckless, or grossly negligent conduct. It also provides a disincentive for criminal prosecution from prosecutors and police who illegally gather evidence. The exclusionary rule is not without its critics, however, as some argue that it defies the original intent of the Constitution and is not supported by the text of the Fourth Amendment.
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The exclusionary rule and standing
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule based on constitutional law that prevents evidence collected or analysed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. The exclusionary rule is grounded in the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, which protects citizens from illegal searches and seizures. It also applies to self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and violations of the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment declares the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. Evidence obtained through warrantless searches by police may be deemed inadmissible at trial, referred to as the "fruit of the poisonous tree", a concept central to the exclusionary rule. The exclusionary rule helps to deter police misconduct and uphold the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The exclusionary rule does not apply to privacy rights of a third party. However, there is a narrow exception to this standing requirement, the jus tertii standing exception. Evidence can only be suppressed if the illegal search violated the person's own constitutional rights.
The issue of standing usually arises when a defendant seeks to invoke the exclusionary rule and suppress evidence from a search, even though their Fourth Amendment rights were not infringed. For example, a co-defendant riding in the passenger seat of a car they own has standing to challenge an illegal search because of their property interest, even if they are not driving the car at the time of the search.
The exclusionary rule has been criticised for defying the original intent of the Constitution. Critics point out that the text of the Fourth Amendment does not indicate that illegally seized evidence must be excluded. Some legal historians argue that the Constitution's framers intended only that victims of unreasonable searches or seizures could file civil lawsuits. However, legal historian Roger Roots presented evidence that the idea of exclusion can be found in the earliest set of law books published in American history, including eighteenth-century British law books and pamphlets that circulated widely in the American colonies.
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Frequently asked questions
The exclusionary rule is found in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The exclusionary rule is a legal rule that prevents evidence collected in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law.
The exclusionary rule may be applied to prevent evidence collected through an illegal search or seizure from being admitted in a trial. This is referred to as the "fruit of the poisonous tree" and is central to the exclusionary rule.
Critics argue that the exclusionary rule defies the original intent of the Constitution, as the text of the Fourth Amendment does not indicate that illegally seized evidence must be excluded.
Yes, there are several alternatives to the exclusionary rule. For example, an illegal search and seizure may be criminally actionable, leading to prosecution of the officers involved. However, such cases are extremely rare.
