Exclusionary Rule

[ISU_Criminology]

Question pertaining to school.

Does the exclusionary rule to the fourth amendment apply when an arrest warrant was found to lack probable cause? I ask because we are working on case laws (Rice v. State). The officer made an arrest on a warrant that he believed to be valid and found Rice in possession of marijuana and methamphetamines. Now, the original charge from the warrant was dismissed. However, the PCS charge is the question. I believe that Rice will be held accountable for the PCS because the officer was only acting in good faith when he made the arrest. The officers job is not to determine whether or not the warrant holds probable cause. Rice wants the exclusionary rule to be applied to her case because the warrant was invalid, but since the search of her person (after a lawful arrest) supplied the PCS, wouldn't she be responsible for it?

Not a question to answer my school work, asking just for verification. I would like another opinion before I go argue the case in class.

[retdetsgt]

I've been out of the game for a long time and rulings have constantly changed. But off the top of my head, it sounds like the drugs would be fruit of the poisoned tree. It doesn't matter if the officer was acting in good faith or not, if it weren't for the bad warrant, he wouldn't have searched the defendant.

Again, subsequent rulings may have changed that perspective.

[Retired Chief]

The case you are discussing is Herring v. United States, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this year. If this scenario has been posed to you by your professor, cite this case, which may be located at 172 L. Ed. 496 or 120 S.Ct. 695 for the proposition that the contraband is admissable. So sayeth the Supreme Court, so sayeth we all!

[retdetsgt]

Glad to see it was tightened up.

[ISU_Criminology]

Thanks, I will give Herring v. U.S. a read.

[ChevySSP]

FWIW we were told that the Good Faith Exception to the 4th Amendment would allow the charge of possession to stand in court because the officer is not able to verify the backing of the warrant. His job is soley to carry it out.

Could be wrong, still new to this, but check it out.

[MountainMan]

Arrest warrants are signed by a judge and at least in theory if PC does not exist it won't be signed.

So an arrest warrant is PC for the arrest. Anything found during the course of the arrest is good to go.

[DeltaV]

Also, just because the case causing the issuance of the original warrant might have been dismissed, that doesn't necessarily mean that a warrant lacks probable cause. Cases backed in probable cause are dismissed all the time, mainly because the state doesn't feel that there is any more proof than just probable cause. They aren't going to attempt to proceed on a case where they don't think they have proof beyond a reasonable doubt and will request that the case be dismissed.