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A long way from Mayberry

The Supremes are back! The New York Times reported on a humorous exchange at oral argument earlier this week on a Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule case.

The first case concerned an Alabama man named Bennie Dean Herring, who was arrested, searched and found with methamphetamines and a pistol. Mr. Herring argued that the evidence should be thrown out because the officers who arrested him, from Coffee County, Ala., had relied on false information from the computer files of the police in neighboring Dale County.

That database showed an outstanding warrant for Mr. Herring?s arrest. In fact, the warrant had been withdrawn five months before...

?If you announce that police error is going to lead to the suppression of evidence,? [said Pamela S. Karlan, representing Mr. Herring], ?the police will do a better job of maintaining their records.?

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. suggested that asking for perfect record-keeping might be unrealistic. ?They probably don?t have the latest version of WordPerfect, or whatever it is,? Chief Justice Roberts said. ?They are probably making do with whatever they can under their budget and doing the best they can.?...

?There?s not a Barney Fife defense to the violation of the Fourth Amendment,? said [Ms. Carlin].

Well put, Ms. Carlin. Snarky, but not too snarky. Are you a blogger?

Full post as published by Supreme Dicta on October 08, 2008 (boomark / email).