Describe the history of the Exclusionary Rule in the United States Supreme Court

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In the 1914 case of Weeks v. U.S. the Supreme Court established the Exclusionary Rule. The Weeks decision made evidence seized by federal officers in violation of the Fourth Amendment inadmissible in federal court. Evidence seized illegally by officers from other jurisdictions was still admissible in federal court as well as state court. The practice of admitting it in federal court became known as the Silver Platter Doctrine. It was not until 1960 that the Supreme Court repudiated the Silver Platter Doctrine and ruled that evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment was not admissible in federal court.
In a 1949 case, the Supreme Court declared that the Fourth Amendment applied to the states but did not rule that state courts must exclude unconstitutionally seized evidence. In 1961, the Supreme Court decided Mapp v. Ohio. This case completed the evolution of the Exclusionary Rule and held that unconstitutionally seized evidence could not be used in state courts.
Two years later, the Court decided Wong Sun v. U. S. This case established the Fruit of the Poison Tree Doctrine. Evidence derived from the unconstitutional search is also inadmissible at trial. Eventually the taint of the original illegal search dissipates. If the chain of events is long enough to allow this to happen, evidence obtained after that point will be admissible in court.