Constitutional Policing

Constitutional Policing
When an officer of the law violates the law in which it enforces it creates mayhem and they lose the trust of the people. By obeying the laws just like the rest of the United States, they gain the social legitimacy that is needed in communities.
Weeks Vs. United States
Weeks. Vs. The United States was the case where Fremont Weeks filed suit against the United States for illegally entering his home and seizing papers that were used in his conviction of transporting lottery tickets through the mail. While at work one day the police went to his home, found the key to his home, and entered. After searching his room for evidence the police left with articles and papers that were then …show more content…

There was an arrest made because they found child pornography, and was prosecuted and tried. There was no warrant at the trial. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, had been violated.This is important because previously this was only the rule in Federal Court and not State Courts. This is now known as selective incorporation. All of these cases are significant because it helped create and refine the Fourth Amendment to our constitution. Weeks vs. U.S. gave us the exlcusionary rule. Silverthorne Lumber vs. U.S. gave us the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine which is an extension of the exclusionary rule. Mapp vs. Ohio gave us the rule that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures” may not be used in the statle law criminal prosecutions. All of the were landmark cases that helped form the Fourth Amendment as it is today.

References http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-keyed-to-saltzburg/searches-and-seizures-of-persons-and-things/mapp-v-ohio-3/ http://library.thinkquest.org/2760/weeks.htm http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ss_web_codes/supreme_court_cases/weeks.html http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1946214737793111775&q=Silverthorne%20Lumber%20&hl=en&as_sdt=2,15&as_vis=1