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Herring, Barney Fife, and Elephants

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

"But there is not a Barney Fife defense to violation of the Fourth Amendment, either." Pamela Karlan, for the defendant, got off that good line in yesterday's oral argument in Herring v. United States, No. 07-513. On the whole though, she had a pretty rough time of it. Orin Kerr at VC thinks it's "a pretty clear win for the government." The Question Presented is, "Whether the Fourth Amendment requires evidence found during a search incident to an arrest to be suppressed when the arresting officer conducted the arrest and search in sole reliance upon facially credible but erroneous information negligently provided by another law enforcement agent." As Chief Justice Roberts notes at page 14, the question of the exclusionary remedy is separate from the question of a violation of the Fourth Amendment, so the nonexistence of a Barney Fife defense to violation is beside the point...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on October 08, 2008 (boomark / email).