The Exclusionary Rule - Vital or Detrimental? Analytical Essay

This paper explores the debate over the legitimacy of the exclusionary rule, which was created by the courts to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of the accused. The paper explains that many people in the law enforcement community believe that this rule is useless and a hindrance to their jobs, while others believe it helps ensure that they take the time to do their job correctly. The paper analyzes the possible ramifications of abolishing the exclusionary rule, as it sometimes means that valuable evidence is thrown out. The paper concludes that the result of abolishing the exclusionary rule would be law enforcement officers searching under every rock, house, and person in hopes of finding the evidence they seek, and walking all over the citizens' private lives in the process; therefore, the answer to whether the exclusionary rule should be abolished is "no."