Arkansas Blog

As a self-proclaimed liberal who opposed Roberts's confirmation, I've long had a problem with the exclusionary rule. It has been weakened already by exceptions such as "good faith" and "inevitable discovery," to the point that it is now rarely applied. Courts will seemingly find any reason to keep evidence in if they believe that it is reliable, in spite of police misconduct.

While I know it would never happen in this country, I'd favor a more transparent approach: a test that seeks to admit reliable evidence and a separate forum to address and deter police misconduct. In a perfect world, that forum would be a criminal penalty for officers who intentionally violate a citizen's civil rights. The inefficacy of the civil remedy provided by USC 1983 lies in the necessity of the victim having the means to find representation and bring a civil suit moreso, I believe, than in a jury's hesitance to impose a penalty on an officer who disregarded the law, the reason more often cited.

The benefit of a separate forum like this would be that courts no longer have to make the Sophie's choice between releasing a potentially dangerous person and turning a blind eye to the Bill of Rights.

The core ideas behind the exclusionary rule, and the whole "fruit of the poisoned tree" logic that made it necessary, are simple. The end does not justify the means. A Constitution is more important than a conviction. Torture does not generate truth. The badge and the gun, and the oath to the Constitution, do not belong to the policeman, but to the taxpayers.

Assuming that Obama and Krugman can return us at the last moment to Keynesian sanity and dodge the Next Great Depression, the most lasting legacy of the years since St. Ronnie will be the dumbing down of the federal judiciary, loading the bench with political hacks selected for their belief in "creation science" and looking for a chance to overrule Roe v. Wade. Scalia and Roberts are only the most visible examples, and they will be with us for a generation.

The public signing of the Lily Ledbetter Act was a slap in the face of the Roberts court, which has taken the Constitution back to the profit-protecting days of Lochner v. New York. (clicky)

There may yet be reason to hope for change.

I know we're all worn out from 8 nightmarish years of Cheney-Bush and a 2 year Presidential campaign and all the celebrating the majority of us have been doing since November 4th. So we've been sluggish when it comes to keeping up with all the miracles President Obama has passed in his first week and a half in office. I've felt like an Newark air traffic controller during rush hour, trying to have the time to take in the full meaning of what Obama has done since January 20th. Of course this is a wonderful complaint to be making!

But we shouldn't dance and sing so loud and hard that we miss little news tid-bits like this stuff about Chief Justice Roberts. If he gets his way on this tainted evidence thing....we will be the new USSR of the world. THINK about what this would mean in your life if your luck changes and bad things happen to you.

If the cops can do any ole thing to land your ass in jail and get away with it, many will....and no one will be safe. Cops aren't inherently evil, but they get pats on the head and rewards by rounding up bad guys. We recently passed a milestone, again it was sorta lost in all the milestones we've been racing past. Last week they announced that for the first time in our history, 1 in every 100 Americans are in prison.

Think about that...if there were 300 in your graduating class....3 of your classmates are in the pokey. I can't remember exactly how many were in my graduating class, but from what I know, I think I've got more than 3 per hundred locked behind steel bars. And I know at least with one of them, I couldn't sleep at night if I knew he was loose. Hurray for life sentences done the right way!

But if a cop can nail you any way he can, and have it hold up in court...Katie bar the bars! Our prison population will explode. I hate it when a bad guy gets off on a technicality. But I have had enough cop friends to know that some of them will do anything to win. A semi-friend of mine got life in prison without parole for selling cocaine. He was guilty as hell except for the day they raided his house and found nothing...a rare day indeed, but true none the less. So the FS cops planted drugs in his house, and did it pretty sloppily.

My semi-friend's lawyer was just about to prove the drugs were planted when he messed up, got drunk, and ran over and killed an old lady. The cops made a secret deal with him to forget the dead old lady if he'd shut up about planted evidence and so he did and my semi-friend went off to prison for life. I honestly forgot how the truth came out....but it did and now Gene Gene the Dancing Machine is a free man. And...as far as I know he quit drugs and selling drugs....nothing teaches you a life lesson like the sentence of life in prison without parole.

But if Chief Justice Roberts and his R buddies on the bench do away with the "exclusionary rule", disconnecting the ends from the means, it could be you or me behind bars for life, not to mention that lethal injection thing that no one can rescue you from once the plungers are pushed. I agree with silverback, a Constitution IS more important than a conviction. Same with torture. If America wins a war by condoning torture, we haven't really won anything because that makes us as bad as our enemy. I said years ago on this blog, if Democrats have to become Republicans to beat Republicans....include me out! America is almost unrecognizable as it is....Obama must whack that Robert's mole back down. Do it right or just give up.

The exclusionary rule is a court made and divised method to punish police and deter police misconduct. NO where is it mentioned in the Constitution. Its typical liberal judge-think. X rapes and kills a person. X leaves the murder weapon and semen-stained rag in the car. Polce search the car and it is an illegal search, according to the then-interpreted search rules. (They can change depending on who appoints US Supreme Court Judges)....DNA and ballistics tests makes no doubt that X is the guy. The "exclusionary rule" says that the prosecutor cant introduce the weapon and rag and tests at the trial . The guy goes free. Hes morally and factually guilty. But you libs CELEBRATE the guy getting off and going free. The solution is to let the bad guy sue the police in civil court for violation of his rights but dont let him GO FREE and then tell the rape and murder victims family, sorry, your family's killer got off on a technichality. Come on Obama lovers...wise up !!

That's not liberal thinking. It's conservative, in that it limits the powers of the police to do whatever they want with us. Only a conservative would call a limitation on the powers of government a liberal idea.

The exclusionary rule is liberal in the same sense that the Bill of Rights is liberal -- but that's right, conservatives dislike that, too (except for the 2nd, of course). Whether warrantless searches or "free speech zones," there's no liberty the modern GOP won't throw away to gain a few votes.

Hey Danny, you sure seem to know a lot about crime.
Been out long?

I would like to restate Danny's comment in a different way. The exclusionary rule is designed, not to punish police, but to separate good police procedure from bad procedure, throwing out the bad and keeping the good. We do that with our food, our clothes, our friends, and just about anything else. Why would we want to use evidence that is tainted? If a confession is the product of threats, how confident can we be in its truthfulness? Should the police be the judge of whether they have done right or wrong? Why would any police officer object to having to follow proper procedure?

Never forget, our Founding Fathers had such fear of innocent people being sent to jail or being executed they designed the Bill of Rights to make the policeman's job harder and the courts more difficult to convict people. They put a lot of logs on the path of justice. They were of the opinion that it is better for some guilty to get off scot free rather than one innocent to be railroaded by government, federal, state and local.

In regards to police misconduct and behaviors,never get arrested in Fulton County. You will be threatened by police,don't get sick,you won't receive medical attention. There is mold on the walls,sewage backed up,wet walls,prisoners sleeping on the floor.You'll get plenty of bologna and hotdogs,allowed no exercise or fresh air just kept in a basement. Here in small town Arkansas we have a few good officers,but mostly corrupt,they have a tin badges and think they have all the power and abuse it. To see we pay tax dollars for such a department is unbelievable. They are public servant,to serve and protect but depends on who you are and if you are part of the good ole boy system.Don't complain to the sheriff he don't have the power to run the office he lets all the other officers make the rules.

In regards to police misconduct and behaviors,never get arrested in Fulton County. You will be threatened by police,don't get sick,you won't receive medical attention. There is mold on the walls,sewage backed up,wet walls,prisoners sleeping on the floor.You'll get plenty of bologna and hotdogs,allowed no exercise or fresh air just kept in a basement. Here in small town Arkansas we have a few good officers,but mostly corrupt,they have a tin badges and think they have all the power and abuse it. To see we pay tax dollars for such a department is unbelievable. They are public servant,to serve and protect but depends on who you are and if you are part of the good ole boy system.Don't complain to the sheriff he don't have the power to run the office he lets all the other officers make the rules.

On July 28th,2009,in Fulton County Arkansas (Salem),city police officer detained a mentally challanged male for suspended drivers license ,at a stop sign, instead of giving him a ticket,he decided to abuse his powers, twisting his arms in handcuffs,causing shoulder damage,handcuffs so tight cut his wrist,put him into the car,while a by stander was attempting to take pictures,city officer called for back-up,then both the city officer and county officer pulled the man out of the car threw him on the ground,the county officer stood with his boot in the mans face,while other officer was jerking him on the ground while handcuffed,with the man screaming in pain,then a part-time county officer off duty runs out of the house pushing the man with phone yelling at him,causing his phone to get broken,then the officer ran over to help torture the man on the ground,then they pick him up threw him back in the police car. Now remind you this is our law enforcement, tax dollars at work, least educated,average salary but can abuse people. But they have a tin badge and get away with this behavior.The tall officer stated he could do what he wanted ,put charges he wants because he can and who he was.Wow how educated, comes from his moma's womb a baby without his toys,give him a gun and badge now he's tough man with a smart mouth all grown up. Arkansas law does nothing to protect people rights. Lawyers afraid to challange the police.The sheriff stated the chief of police gives his men orders to use whatever force is necessary,Wow the great chief has spoken.Chief of Police states don't matter who you talk to,write or complain to ,we have the authority and the power,the prosecutor,judges are all in our back pocket so we have nothing to worry about.Now that says alot about government.Sheriff states he has no control. We can all see that. So why pay for a sheriff.Sound like a bunch monkeys in a tree waiting for the elder male to speak so they can jump branches.The jail is still nasty, inmates still in inhumane conditions,and no-one does nothing. If a person shot a dog he'd go to jail for animal cruelty.But here people are treated worse than dogs.So if you plan on visiting or moving here think twice. If your not in the Fulton County Click,you'll be harrassed,arrested or run of town.Come visit the court system here, you'll see more young people up there,why because parents will pay the fines, thats what keeps this county afloat,but once you make it to the system here your in it till the end or you move,Even the prosecutor here is part of the click.Come On Arkansas ,start protecting your rights.Stand up. Suppose to be Government for the people by the People.ACLU don't listen to these complaints,from small town people,to small for them.