NCJ Number
93529
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Law Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (July 1983) Pages: 109-148
Date Published
1983
Length
40 pages
Annotation
Because objections to evidence on exclusionary sanction grounds that rest in whole or in part on State law increasingly face State courts, care should be taken that a well-reasoned independent body of State exclusionary sanction jurisprudence is developed.
Abstract
The development of State exclusionary sanction jurisprudence first requires that State courts identify whether they are addressing, as matters of State law, the right to exclusion, whether a violation of the defendant's rights occurred, or both. Second, in addressing the identified issues, State courts must carefully define the significance to be given to the vast U.S. Supreme Court precedents that might provide guidance in resolving matters of State law. Generally, this will involve resisting the temptation to uncritically follow the analysis given by the Supreme Court to an analogous issue of Federal constitutional doctrine. Finally, State courts must pursue an independent development of a satisfactory framework for addressing State law-exclusionary sanction issues. Specifically, the tribunals must consider whether, as a matter of State law, significant weight is to be given the value of exclusionary sanctions in providing citizens with personal remedies for the wrongs done, in furthering notions of judicial integrity other than encouragement of future violations of the underlying local requirements, and in preventing future violations by means other than conscious deterrence. Illustrations are provided to demonstrate the independence that sound State policy requires and the need to examine potentially useful Supreme Court precedent in resolving the issues. The illustrations also show the differences among the types of issues arising in State exclusionary sanction-litigation. One illustration focuses on construction of the defendant's underlying right, i.e., whether an investigatory stop made upon reasonable suspicion that the suspect has committed a 'possessory' offense is reasonable within the meaning of State prohibition against unreasonable seizures of the person. Another illustration involves consideration of whether an exclusionary sanction should attach to a right that clearly exists as a matter of State law, i.e., the right of an arrested person to be promptly presented before a magistrate. A total of 115 footnotes are included.