The Fourth Circuit recently ruled that evidence discovered in the backpack of a North Carolina criminal suspect must be suppressed because the warrantless search was not made lawful under any of the exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
The exclusionary rule prevents the government from presenting evidence in a criminal case that is tainted by a violation of the suspect/defendant's constitutional rights. A recent 4th Circuit Appellate concluded that drug evidence should have been suppressed under the exclusionary rule because the police seized the defendant without a reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal behavior. This article explores the case and the law behind the Court's ruling.
