NCJ Number
99393
Journal
Criminal Justice Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (Spring 1985) Pages: 176-200
Date Published
1985
Length
25 pages
Annotation
After discussing two recent U.S. Supreme Court cases (United States v. Leon and Massachusetts v. Shepherd) which adopted a variation of the 'good faith' exception to the exclusionary rule, this first of a two-part article chronicles the history of the Federal exclusionary rule and the New Jersey courts' response to changing Federal interpretations of the rule.
Abstract
In United States v. Leon, the U.S. Supreme Court held that where police reasonably rely on the validity of a search warrant, evidence seized pursuant to the warrant's execution should not be suppressed, notwithstanding that the warrant was not based on probable cause. In Massachusetts v. Sheppard, where a judge committed a clerical error that rendered a search warrant technically defective, the Court concluded that the police had taken every precaution that could reasonably have been expected of them and that no purpose could be served by excluding the seized evidence. The Federal courts are now bound to consider in each case the applicability of the limited good faith exception announced in 'Leon' and 'Sheppard.' The New Jersey Supreme Court, however, has opted to interpret the State constitution so as to provide greater protections against unreasonable searches and seizures than is currently afforded under the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the fourth amendment. A total of 205 footnotes are listed.