Question

) Do you believe that America should consider the more flexible approaches to improperly-obtained evidence similar to those of other well-regarded judicial systems abroad?  What changes would you make if you could re-write the Exclusionary Rule?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Currently, the lawful way to collect evidence is through a warrant. In order to get a warrant, one must establish a strong cause of suspicion through pre-existing evidence or any other strong cause. All of this makes the process of getting a warrant a little more bureaucratic than it should be. Furthermore, the perpetrator might get intimated in advance and “take care” of any evidence that is possibly lying around. This American system is similar to judicial systems of most democratic nations.

The exclusionary rule allows the accused to question the legitimacy of the process adopted by the law enforcer to acquire the evidence they have. If it is not lawful, the evidence, however strong, could be nullified.

Although this rule protects the process, it is also important to protect the citizens. Law enforcers should be able to acquire evidence with little effort as compared to the current system. However, there should be a rule that required at least a small precinct of officers at the crime scene. This would be to ensure that no officer exercises a personal grudge by planting evidence on the scene.