Description
The exclusionary rule is a mechanism for protecting 4th Amendment rights by, in some circumstances, disallowing illegally gathered evidence from being used against a defendant at trial.
Consider the following scenario: A Case of ‘Who did it?’
Mary Ellis, a widow who resides with her adult son William, awakens on a Saturday morning and goes to her walk-in closet, where she finds a man whom she recognizes as a neighbor, Clyde Stevens, lying on the floor unresponsive. Mrs. Ellis calls 911. Minutes later, police and EMS personnel arrive. Mr. Stevens is pronounced dead from an apparent stabbing, as he has a large butcher knife protruding from his back. Mrs. Ellis is transported to the hospital for observation, as she is quite distraught.
Continued….
Crime scene investigators actively process the scene. In William's bedroom, technicians develop a blood fingerprint adjacent to a light switch, using an amino acid stain, after locating the print using the absorptive properties of blood and a portable argon laser. The crime scene investigator photographs the print and recovers a sample of the blood for DNA analysis. The print is from the right index finger of William Ellis, and DNA analysis matches the blood to Clyde Stevens.
Write a 1,050–1,400 word essay incorporating the following:
Describe 1) the exclusionary rule, and 2) the “fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine,” including an explanation of how they differ.
Explain whether the exclusionary rule and/or “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine apply to the evidence recovered in A Case of “Who did it?’. If so, how?
If police conduct an illegal search, are they civilly liable for their actions?
Briefly describe the steps that you would have taken as a responding officer to the Ellis scene to ensure the admissibility of all evidence.
Format your work consistent with APA guidelines.
Include a title and reference page.
Cite a minimum of three reliable sources within the body of your paper using in-text citations where appropriate.
USE ONLY ACADEMIC SOURCES: Use Google Scholar, JSTOR, textbooks, and/or .gov websites to keep the true academic sources in your papers. TURNITIN MUST BE UNDER 20%
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running Head: THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE
The Exclusionary Rule
Student’s Name
Course Title and Number
Professor’s Name
Date
1
THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE
2
The Exclusionary Rule
Introduction and Thesis Statement
The exclusionary rule is a law providing that any evidence collected or analyzed without
embracing the rights of the defendant should be unacceptable in a criminal court. It, therefore,
restricts the court from depriving an individual’s property, liberty or even life without the
undertaking of the legal processes. As outlined in the fourth amendment, the exclusionary rule is
expected to defend everyone from illegitimate seizures and searches (Kaylor, 2014). The law,
therefore, serves as a provision of disincentive and remedy to respond to criminal prosecution by
the police and prosecutors in occurrences where illegal evidence has been obtained.
The defendants are therefore provided with a defense that does not dictate whether or not
they were involved in the crime thus offering a legal technicality (Harrison, 1971). There exist
limitations against which the law could be applied such as in a parole revocation hearing, in a
grand jury proceeding and a civil case. Even in a criminal prosecution, barring is not merely
made for all the evidence obtained in fourth amendment violation without legal steps (Paulsen,
1961). However, the proof would be allowable in the court of law considering that it was
unlawfully collected by a private individual as the law is suited for privacy rights protection with
the fourth amendment’s applying primaril...
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