NCJ Number
110937
Journal
Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 45-80
Date Published
1987
Length
36 pages
Annotation
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have eroded fourth amendment protections. However, decertification of police officers for constitutional violations in evidence gathering by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Boards can serve as an alternative or supplement to the exclusionary rule.
Abstract
Currently, 37 States provide procedures for decertifying police officers for a variety of misconducts. Florida has been a leading proponent of decertification as a means for preventing abuses. It considers decertification in cases involving private, departmental, and public official misconduct. The last category includes unconstitutional conduct that yields evidence of a crime, unconstitutional conduct that does not yield evidence but may expose the officer to prosecution for violation of a citizen's civil rights, and other misconduct such as bribery or negligent deprivation of property. An analysis of 132 decertifications between 1976 and 1983 indicates that only 2 cases involved unlawful search and seizure, and neither would have been subject to the exclusionary rule. The vast majority of decertifications were for private and departmental misconduct, and over a third of these involved criminal convictions of ten decertified officers. Thus, despite its potential as a remedy, decertification does not appear to be effective in cases involving official police misconduct of the constitutional evidentiary type. 177 footnotes.