Study GuideCriminal JusƟce–Police Powers and CiƟzens' Rights1. The Exclusionary Rule1.1What Is the Exclusionary Rule?Theexclusionary ruleis a rule created by judges to protect people’s constitutional rights. It says thatevidence obtained by the government in an illegal way cannot be used against a defendant incourt.If police violate a person’s constitutional rights—especially during a search—any evidence they findmay be excluded from the trial. To make this happen, the defendant can file amotion to suppressbefore the trial. This motion asks the judge to declare the evidenceinadmissible, meaning theprosecution cannot use it.Most of the time, the exclusionary rule applies tophysical evidence, such as:•A murder weapon•Stolen property•Illegal drugsThis rule mainly protects theFourth Amendment rightagainstunreasonable searches andseizures.1.2Weeks v. United States (1914): The Birth of the RuleThe exclusionary rule began with the Supreme Court caseWeeks v. United Statesin 1914.In this case, the Court decided thatif police go beyond their constitutional authority whenconducting a search, that search is invalid. As a result, any evidence found during that illegalsearch cannot be used in court.At the time of this decision, theBill of Rights applied only to the federal government, not to stategovernments. This meant that the exclusionary rule initially appliedonly in federal cases.Preview Mode
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