NCJ Number
153240
Date Published
1992
Length
128 pages
Annotation
Compared to the Warren U.S. Supreme Court, a new order of constitutional interpretation has emerged under the Burger and Rehnquist U.S. Supreme Court majorities that marks a "revolution to the right," as decisions have tended to undermine the due process model.
Abstract
The expansion of the limitations and exceptions on the reach of the exclusionary rule opens the door to greater constitutional tolerance of police and judicial error in evidence gathering. The Court's "public exposure" doctrine emasculates the citizen's expectation of "privacy," and the scales of the "reasonableness" balance more often give way to imperatives of "crime control." Searches are no longer "searches." The warrant clause and the "probable cause" standard have become the exception rather than the rule when a search is recognized as a "search." The Miranda doctrine, designed to ensure intelligent waivers of the right of suspects to remain silent during custodial police interrogation, becomes a "prophylactic device" with a sufficient number of holes in it that no longer offers complete protection. The "Gideon" promise regarding the protections of legal counsel, appointed or retained, in all stages of the criminal justice system often becomes a hollow promise in critical settings. Although many support these developments in constitutional criminal procedure as an aid to the "war on crime," the long-term effect on constitutional law may not be constructive. Chapter notes and a subject index