Illegal Searches

Once, a long time ago (1914) the Supreme Court made a decision. They wanted to enforce the 4th amendment prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure and they needed a remedy that would dissuade police from engaging in this illegal activity. The choices were to make police criminally liable for missteps or, in the alternative, ban the use of any evidence gathered with the illegal search in any criminal trial.

The chose to exclude the evidence rather than see policemen go to jail. They reasoned that it would dissuade the illegal activity since the evidence resulting would be useless. This was a reasonable bargain that held till this week.

The Supreme Court of today seems to have forgotten the well thought out compromise of yesteryear and has just said that under some circumstances, that evidence might still be admissible. After all, some bad people might get away with something.

Now, what is dissuading police from violating the rules? Absolutely nothing!

Score one more point for the police state folks. They are making rapid progress. At the rate that our rights are melting away, we might not have any freedom left at all in less than 5 years. This is happening because the public seems blissfully unaware of the degradation.

I guess that we are frogs in warm water and do not notice the increasing temperature. Only a few of us freedom loving curmudgeons seem to care.