How did the current criminal justice system in the U.S evolve? The development of the criminal justice system in America was greatly influenced by English common law. However, there were some notable differences. In developing what would become the Constitution, the Founding Fathers were also influenced by the fractious relationship the colonies had had with the British sovereign and by Enlightenment philosophy of inalienable human rights. After America became a sovereign nation, it created a written constitution which specifically delineated the rights of all citizens in what came to be known as the Bill of Rights. The process of judicial review of American law was established with the U.S. Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison (History and organization of the federal judicial system, 2008, American.gov). Laws and actions of law enforcement officials must honor the rights of all American citizens, including the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Regarding this Fourth Amendment right, for example, the doctrine of the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' holds that illegally obtained evidence must be excluded from trial (Fruit of the poisonous tree. 2012, University of Cornell Law School). This reflects the idea that it is better to let a guilty person go free versus putting the maximum amount of persons behind bars to ostensibly keep the state 'safe.' Gradually, over the development of U.S. history, the tension between the rights of the federal and
The exclusionary rule prevents the government from using most evidence gathered illegally this comes into play when evidence is obtained in violation of a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure. The rule may also be triggered by police violations of the Fifth or Sixth Amendment. Additionally, the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine holds that
The Constitution of The United States of America was created “in Order to form a more perfect Union.” Our rights, as citizens, are protected by the first ten amendments also known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments were established due to the strong objections of the British rule on the original colonies. Particularly speaking, the fourth amendment has protected our rights from unlawful search and seizures. With the implementation of “Probable Cause” and the vagueness of the Bill of Rights, the rules have been stretched and some say violated.We the people, need to develop the fine line between Probable cause and an unlawful search.
The Fourth Amendment is a persons right to privacy and protects them from an unlawful search and seizure. When an officer conducts an unlawful search and illegally collects evidence, the officer might try to present the evidence in the suspects trial.As a result of unreasonable search and seizure, the exclusionary rule was created. The exclusionary rule states that any criminal evidence collected by law enforcement officials in violation of a persons fourth amendments rights is inadmissible in court (Schmalleger, 128). However, the exclusionary rule was established to ensure that police officers abide by the rules and obtain warrants that permit them to effectively conduct a search and arrests, especially if the arrest made may lead to the
The Fourth Amendment is the basis for several cherished rights in the United States, and the right to the freedom of unreasonable searches and seizures is among them. Therefore, it would seem illegitimate- even anti-American for any law enforcement agent to search and seize evidence unlawfully or for any court to charge the defendant with a guilty verdict established on illegally attained evidence. One can only imagine how many people would have been sitting in our jails and prisons were it not for the introduction of the exclusionary rule.
Daniel Hoover Professor Jack Citron/ Joseph Warren Political Science 1 September 22nd, 2015 The Constitution is not a Democratic Document The U.S. Constitution revolutionized the American political system, and shaped world history by inspiring other states to imitate its protection of civil liberties in the later adopted Bill of Rights, checks and balances between branches within the federal government, and guarantees to state governments. For the purpose of this paper, it is essential to analyze the Constitution in its early form because it established the conditions from which our federal republic has evolved. In addition, the Constitution of December 15th, 1791, the date when the promised Bill of Rights was added, best reflects the intentions
This doctrine of dual sovereignty indicates the evolving nature of the concept of sharing powers between the state and federal governments. However, this evolution of perspective in reconciling the allocation of power between the state and federal government was impeded with the American Civil War. The Civil War, a domestic war fought in order to determine the existence of the United States of America, saw a result in which the Union was victorious, thus determining the theory that—contrary to the perspective adopted by Jefferson through his Kentucky Resolutions—the federal government was not a loose compact of sovereign states and it had equal powers with state powers. However, this victory did not settle the conflict regarding the rights and powers of the federal and state governments. While this conflict remained in American society, it was not until more recent political administrations that the issue arose again to the forefront of American
One controversial aspect of the Fourth Amendment is of how courts should seize evidence obtained illegally. The rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights states that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” However, it does not explain clearly what an unreasonable search or seizure is and in what cases a police officer should take caution when searching or seizing a suspect. As cases arose in which defendants brought these questions into court, the Supreme Court decided it would need to establish rules which the federal government would implement so that the government doesn’t abuse/overlook the people’s
America was founded on the principles of establishing and protecting liberty, which is described by The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution of the United States was written to provide a unified and functioning government and also to protect individual rights. The colonists disagreed with the workings of the British government and decided to become an independent state. Once the Constitution was put in place, “the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution.” The
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees the right of the people "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." ("Fourth Amendment") In order to avoid an illegal search or seizure, the police must first obtain a search warrant "upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." ("Fourth Amendment") Despite these fundamental principles, the courts have been forced to recognize that there are times when a search or seizure is appropriate without a warrant.
According to (Maclin, 2012), to achieve the credibility of the rights enlisted in the United States Constitution, there should be an enforceable rule imposed on the authorities/government for violations of the listed rights. Following the Weeks Vs U.S, the court deemed it necessary to have a rule that safeguards unreasonable searches and seizures. Evidence gathered from unlawful searches and seizures were in violation of the 4th amendment and therefore should not be admitted in a court of law. In its decision, the Week's court went forth to state that a court may not ratify illegal government action through the admission of evidence, regarded as the fruits of the poisonous tree. Initially, the exclusionary rule was inapplicable to states but
Search and seizure is a vital and controversial part of criminal justice, from the streets to the police station to court. It is guided by the Fourth Amendment, which states that people have the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure of their bodies, homes, papers, and possessions and that warrants describing what and where will be searched and/or seized are required to be able to search the above things (“Fourth Amendment,” n.d.). Interpretations of the Fourth Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court and the establishment of case law by many state and federal courts have expanded upon the circumstances under which search and seizure is legal. Several doctrines and exceptions have also emerged from the Supreme Court and other case law that guide law enforcement officers on the job and aid lawyers in court.
Search and seizure Supreme Court cases, such as Terry v. Ohio and Mapp v. Ohio, allowed individuals to protect their rights of law enforcement officers from searching into property without a warrant. A search and seizure must be conducted correctly exactly how the 4th Amendment is presented. On the other hand, it is very important for the law enforcement to intrude and stop a potential threat to harm society. For instance, it is different if a treacherous terrorist was hiding in a neighborhood with armed weapons. However, national security takes it granted with citizen’s rights without a probable cause or to stop and frisk. Some law enforcement officers assume and overpower citizens without thinking about their rights. The National security,
America 's Criminal Justice system started during colonial America, with the early colonists coming from England, France, and the Dutch Republic. Our original morals for our law system were pulled from the English Common Law System. The English common law system was a set of rules to solve issues that arose within society. Common law is a strategy that focuses on past
To begin with, the Fourth Amendment was constituted to protect the people from unreasonable searches and seizures. However, there are times and cases in which an investigation is started and evidence is collected illegally. There are doctrines such as The Exclusionary Rule and Fruit of the Poisonous Tree in place to eliminate any evidence to be used in court if obtained illegally. This paper will differentiate the two doctrines as well explain how and why the two could possibly be incorporated in the case of “Who did it.” We will also look into the immunity that government officials may have pertaining to civil liability and see if officers affiliated with the “Who did It” case are protected from their actions.
In terms of reflecting what I have learned in this course since Module 1, the Fourth Amendment became clearer to me. The Fourth Amendment is comprehended as putting limitations on the legislature whenever it confines (seizes) or looks through a man or property. The Fourth Amendment additionally gives that "no warrants might issue, yet upon probable cause, bolstered by vow or assertion, and especially portraying the place to be sought and the people or things to be grabbed." The thought is that to maintain a strategic distance from the shades of malice of general warrants, each inquiry or seizure ought to be cleared ahead of time by a judge, and that to get a warrant the administration must show "probable cause"; a specific level of doubt of criminal movement to legitimize the hunt or seizure.