craig@cfib.UUCP (08/30/83)
#R:bmcg:-47300:cfib:9100002:000:1104 cfib!craig Aug 24 16:27:00 1983 A small comment about the policy of throwing out evidence. A good lawyer I know pointed out that throwing out evidence is the only way to deal with illegal behaviour on the part of law enforcement officers. A case in point is Miranda -- if the subject isn't read his rights the cops can't prosecute him, because if we let the cops ever get away with not reading a guy his rights, it is encouraging subsequent transgressions. Similar logic applies to illegally obtained evidence -- we cannot say "this is illegal evidence but we will accept it" because that permits cops to routinely get evidence illegally. Note also that I do not think it is reasonable to make cops personally responsible for their actions -- law enforcement officers have a hard enough job without forcing them to think every last stinking minute of the day about whether some action they take will lead to a court case against them -- (and, by the by, you'll clutter up the court dockets even more with all the cases of criminals who feel their rights were violated by the cop who arrested them). Craig Partridge ima!cfib!craig