EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 1 Exclusionary Rule Evaluation CJA 364 Exclusionary Rule Evaluation EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 2 The men and women who exist within that society set the morals and values that exist within a society in place The code of ethics and what it deemed to be right or wrong is set in place by those that live within the confines of the structures of that society and based on what they have perceived to be good and bad is what determines what should and should not be made into law The laws that are made are meant to keep those who abide by what is perceived to be right and wrong protected from the few that exist within society that do not share the same beliefs or wish to cause them harm Laws were introduced into society to keep us safe from those who have lesser morals and values Views on morality change and the only thing that remains constant about human perception is that it is constantly changing Human beings are fallible and for this reason they cannot entirely be expected to maintain a constant integrity on what they perceive as morality Because of this laws have been introduced to protect citizens from those who have been entrusted to protect those very same citizens In this paper we will discuss one of them the Exclusionary Rule We will analyze the rational and purpose of the Exclusionary Rule as well as identify the exceptions of the Exclusionary Rule We will examine the costs and benefits of the Exclusionary Rule as we all as the alternative remedies to the rule EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 3 Definition of the Exclusionary Rule The Exclusionary Rule stems directly from the Fifth Amendment and states that no object may be used as evidence in court against a person if that object was obtained illegally or by the means of an improper search without a search warrant Because of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights American citizens were given specific freedoms to privacy and freedoms from invasive searches The principle that a search can be invasive and illegal can be researched back to 1921 in a case of Gouled v United States in which the Supreme Court held that although the government had the authority to seize contraband it had no authority to take property merely to use as evidence In text Citation Exceptions to the Rule There are times when a search can be done without a warrant however When contraband is in plain view for instance an officer is allowed to search and seize evidence during the arrest This would serve as an exception to the rule but it would also serve as a means to keep an officer from overstepping their bounds and acting in a manner that was overzealous The duty of an officer is to serve and protect not to violate the civil liberties given to American citizens In text Citation EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 4 Warrants A judge is the only person who can issue a warrant and there MUST be a means of probable cause in order for the warrant to be issued In the warrant there will be listed the date location time of search what they are expecting to find and the meaning for the belief that such a search for a particular object will be found in the indicated position In text Citation Personal Position of the Exclusionary Rule Many feel that these rules are necessary and needed Others feel opposed to the rule altogether They feel that if an officer were to uncover contraband in any manner then the officer would have no reason to pretend the contraband was not there They feel as if criminals are given leniency far too often and are allowed to escape justice because of rules such as this They feel that people with contraband that they know to be illegal should not have been in the possession of such contraband to begin with These Americans are willing to give their liberties granted to them by the Constitution to feel they are being given a greater safety or security Benjamin Franklin once said those who will give their liberty for security will eventually lose both Those who feel the rule is needed believe that rules such as the Exclusionary Rule is what separates us as Americans EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 5 from other nations They feel that because we have been granted civil liberties they above all else should be protected They feel that when we lose our civil liberties we will begin to live in an oppressed society that has no freedom whatsoever In text Citation It is the opinion of the writer that rules such as the Exclusionary Rule are needed Often those sworn to protect us need to have guidelines as to what they can and cannot do in order to perform this duty Policing a state and enforcing a police state are two different things Our public servants are exactly that they are public servants They are not put into that position to take our freedoms away but to ensure that they are not taken away Costs and Benefits of the Exclusionary Rule As the rule is interpreted today it is believed that the cost of the Exclusionary Rule is that law enforcement is hindered by it People believe that the rule prevents law enforcement from having the opportunity to use certain types of evidence and it limits their capabilities They would argue that the results of the rule prevent police from catching criminals and encourages criminals to increase illegal activity On the other side the benefit of the Exclusionary Rule is that it keeps the police and law enforcement officials in line It sets a limit and a EXCLUSIONARY RULE EVALUATION 6 guideline for what they can legally do to a suspected criminal and provides necessary steps that must be taken in order to prove this criminal as guilty The benefit is that the law enforcement officials must take every precaution necessary to ensure that a person is guilty before they can arrest them It serves as a protection against law enforcement officials illegally arresting a person In text Citation Conclusion Law enforcement officials are usually good people They need to be and most of them are The majority of them put their lives on the line to protect the innocent They do their best to ensure that the citizens in the United States are given their civil liberties and these brave men and women do their duty and swear to their actions to provide safety and secure liberty for the people The Exclusionary Rule is not meant to work against these men and women but is meant to serve as a tool to aid them in an efficient conviction If a law enforcement officer takes the necessary steps to ensure a civilians civil rights and