The application of the Fourth Amendment's exclusionary rule has divided the justices of the Supreme Court for nearly a century. This book traces the rise and fall of the exclusionary rule with insight and behind-the-scenes access into the Court's thinking.
This book explains the different approaches to interpreting the Fourth Amendment that the Supreme Court has used throughout American history, concentrating on the changes in interpretation since the Court applied the exclusionary rule to the states in 1961. It examines the evolution of the warrant rule and the exceptions to it, the reasonableness approach, the special needs approach, individual and society expectations of privacy, and the role of the exclusionary rule.
Professor LaFave interprets and applies the Fourth Amendment in diverse factual situations for developing more effective arguments of search and seizure issues in plea bargaining, trial, and appeal phases of a criminal case. Expert discussion covers the exclusionary rule and other remedies, protected areas and interests, probable cause, and search warrants. This work also addresses search and seizure of persons and personal effects, entry and search of premises, search and seizure of vehicles, and consent searches. Explores stop and frisk and similar lesser intrusions, along with inspections and regulatory searches. Also examines the administration of the exclusionary rule.
A timely, historical look at Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, covering more than two centuries of search-and-seizure law, from landmark judicial decisions to enduring controversies. Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Rights and Liberties under the Law provides a comprehensive exploration of the development of the Fourth Amendment from the late 18th century to the present. The work clearly explains complex legal questions and pivotal judicial decisions, illustrating the controversial nature of Fourth Amendment issues and differentiating between reasonable and unreasonable searches and seizures. Presenting a wealth of cases and examples, the authors analyze important developments, such as the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Weeks v. United States (prohibiting federal courts from admitting evidence obtained in violation of the Amendment), the expansion of Fourth Amendment protections in the 1960s, the apparent weakening of rights since the early 1970s, and the contraction of the exclusionary rule in response to the war on drugs and the war on terror.
In Constitutional Exclusion, James J. Tomkovicz discusses the "exclusionary rules" which prevent evidence of a criminal defendant's guilt from being introduced at trial, and which incite strong, often hostile reactions from the public. The understandable antipathy toward evidentiary suppression is, to some extent, attributable to misunderstanding of the reasons why our legal system suppresses probative evidence of guilt. Professor Tomkovicz describes and discusses the natures and the purposes of the seven different constitutional exclusion mandates. The in-depth examinations and analyses of exclusionary rule histories, foundations, objectives, and doctrines found in the book dispel some of the critical misconceptions and flawed assumptions that surround the rules and that prevent appreciation of their significant roles in enforcing fundamental rights. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the delicate balance our Bill of Rights strikes between freedom and order, between liberty and security.
This book looks at the rights against unreasonable search and seizure granted to United States citizens under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. The author provides historical context and descriptions of the people involved in the passage of this important amendment. Examples showing how the Fourth Amendment is applied in today's modern technological society are provided.
A July 2012 supplement of the book is available at this link (updated July 6, 2012). Due to the thousands of daily governmental intrusions -- such as airport checks, traffic stops, drug testing, obtaining of digital evidence, traditional criminal law enforcement practices and regulatory inspections -- the Fourth Amendment is the most commonly implicated and litigated part of our Constitution. This treatise comprehensively treats United States Supreme Court caselaw and takes a structural approach to the Fourth Amendment, addressing foundational questions, such as: What is a search? What is a seizure? What does the Amendment protect? Who does it protect? When is it satisfied? When does the exclusionary rule apply? The treatise is organized by topic so a reader can have ready access to current doctrine and is able to examine in additional sections how current doctrine developed. The historical events and the Court's development of search and seizure principles provide context to, and perspective on, current doctrine.