Essay On Exclusionary Rule

The Exclusionary Rule is a law that prohibits the use of evidence into a trial if such evidence was obtained in a search that violates the United States Constitution. The Exclusionary Rule was put in place to maintain the Fourth Amendment which is one the cornerstones of the Constitution. It protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, sets the framework for the warrant rule, and introduces the concept of probable cause into police procedures The Exclusionary Rule is intended to refrain the police from misconduct. However, the Exclusionary Rule had a long history before it could adequately protect citizens. Today, the Exclusionary Rule is a vital piece of American legislation which ensures protection of the civil rights of all …show more content…
This rule landmarked the Supreme Court’s position on protecting an individual’s Constitutional rights through times when state courts allowed abuse of law enforcement power in criminal investigations. At this time though, the Exclusionary rule only applied to federal courts. This changed because of the Wolf v. People of the State of Colorado case. Julius A. Wolf claimed that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated at his state trial because the state court allowed evidence obtained illegally to be used in his trial. Despite this claim, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State of Colorado and decided “although the Fourth Amendment applied to the states, the states were not required to exclude evidence obtained unlawfully” since the Exclusionary Rule applied to the federal law enforcements abusing their power (Great American Court Cases 369). In 1961, however, the Supreme Court reversed its original decision in 1949 and made a final decision in 1961 that “the Exclusionary Rule . . . applies to states as well as the federal government;” because of the Mapp v. Ohio case.(Great American Court Cases 373) The police suspected

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