NCJ Number
110707
Journal
Arizona Law Review Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: (1987) Pages: 343-351
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
In State v. Ault, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to apply the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule in holding that evidence obtained during a warrantless entry into a defendant's home was inadmissible at trial.
Abstract
The inevitable discovery doctrine, announced in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nix v. Williams (1984), allows admission of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the prosecution can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the evidence ultimately or inevitably would have been discovered by lawful means. In State v. Ault, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to use the inevitable discovery rule to allow admission of the evidence. The court cited a strong State policy of prohibiting warrantless entries in homes as the basis for its refusal to apply the doctrine. The Ault decision sends an unmistakable message to law enforcement personnel that they must follow lawful procedures in search and seizure cases involving entrance into a person's home. The inevitable legal discovery of improperly seized evidence will be of no consequence if officers violate the Arizona Constitution. 65 footnotes.