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Exclusionary rule takes a gut shot

Before I had a chance to post on a SCOTUS decision issued today (see the New York Times coverage) that eliminates the exclusionary rule when civil liberties are violated accidentally because of database errors, Texas State Trooper Association attorney Don Dickson left a comment on a related Grits post that essentially sums up my concerns:by a 5-4 vote, the SCOTUS ruled today that an erroneous crime record - in this case, a warrant which had been recalled but still showed up on someone's records - was not sufficient to trigger the exclusionary rule after a search incident to arrest on that warrant revealed that the subject, a convicted felon, was carrying a firearm and drugs.I have mixed feelings about the ruling. On the one hand, I feel that the exclusionary rule is an indispensable protection of our civil liberties, and I don't like to see it chipped away...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on January 14, 2009 (boomark / email).