NCJ Number
103215
Date Published
1986
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The exclusionary rule, 'Miranda' requirements for police officers, and the prohibition against juries drawing adverse inferences from the defendant's pretrial silence and refusal to testify are judicially constructed rules that do not deter police misconduct and obstruct the search for truth.
Abstract
The U.S. Constitution mandates certain rights for persons being investigated for and accused of crimes. The exclusionary rule, which requires the suppression of evidence deemed to have been obtained illegally, and the Miranda rule, which requires the police to inform arrestees they can remain silent so as not to incriminate themselves, are efforts to protect defendants' rights. They err, however, in obstructing the search for truth and justice. The release of guilty persons due to the suppression of reliable and incriminating evidence should not be permitted. This punishes the public, whose safety is jeopardized by the release of the guilty person, more than it punished officers who may have transgressed judicially constructed rules. Officers should be trained to protect defendants' rights, and there should be sanctions against officers who violate those rights, but the sanction should not obstruct the placing of all relevant evidence before the factfinder in a case. More reliance should be placed upon the jury to determine the truth in a case based upon all reliable evidence pertinent to the issue of guilt or innocence. The jury should decide whether circumstances surrounding the obtaining of the evidence render it unreliable.