THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE - Essay Example

On the other hand, under the Fifth Amendment no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself” (United States Constitution, Fifth Amendment) thus, a person is protected from self-incrimination. In the same manner, the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel, thus a statement made by a person to the police without the assistance of his or her lawyer may be excluded from the court proceedings (Berg, 2008). The application of the exclusionary rule in the United States has been defined by many leading cases decided by the Supreme Court.

The case of Boyd v. United States (1886)1 is one of the earliest leading cases where the Supreme Court applied the exclusionary rule together with the Fourth Amendment. According to the Court in this case, the invasion of the “indefeasible right of personal security, personal liberty, and private property” violates the provision of the Fourth Amendment and any evidence gathered through the unreasonable search and seizure should be excluded in the court. The application of the exclusionary rule in relation to the Fourth Amendment was later on strengthened by the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Weeks v United States (1914)2.

The case of Weeks v United States (1914)3 is the first case where the United States Supreme Court established a strong exclusionary rule under the Fourth Amendment. According to the Court in this case, the warrantless seizure of objects or items from the residence of a private individual is a violation of the rights established under the Fourth Amendment and as such, these objects or items may not be used as evidences in a court proceeding. The Court also said in this case that the exclusion of these objects or items extend to the illegally obtained evidence in federal court.

The exclusionary rule in the United States was further strengthen in the decision of the court in the case of