Adding rubber-stamp on-line warrant judges isn't going to help anything. What's needed is to allow defense attorneys to put questions of warrant legitimacy before trial-court juries. Inform the jury in trial court that unless the state proves that a warrant was obtained and served 100% legitimately, the jury should not regard any evidence gained by the warrant in any manner detrimental to the defense.
To be sure, a lot of jurors might convict someone using evidence they really shouldn't have considered, but a lot of jurors would, with the right defense arguments, quite properly refuse to go along with some of what the police would call "probable cause". Presently, when police seek a warrant there's no way for the intended target to cross-examine them and uncover information that may show that their "probable cause" is a sham. For example, if police get a warrant based upon the fact that drug activity was observed in a house two months ago, but fail to disclose to the warrant judge that the person who occupied the property then was evicted and someone else moved in, a judge might not quash any evidence stemming from such a warrant, but a jury might be loath to accept it (if nothing else, because it would show such sloppy investigation by the officers involved that their conduct on the case would be untrustworthy).
I appreciate your input, thank you.
“What’s needed is to allow defense attorneys to put questions of warrant legitimacy before trial-court juries. Inform the jury in trial court that unless the state proves that a warrant was obtained and served 100% legitimately, the jury should not regard any evidence gained by the warrant in any manner detrimental to the defense.”
To me, truth is truth. Warrants are a means to an end. I think juries should only need to focus on what is true and what isn’t true. Suppression of evidence due to technicalities is for another trial or lawsuit IF the suspect is not guilty. That cuts through the tangle. I could care less if a scumbag isn’t given “due process”. But then planted “evidence” would be the next big problem. That’s when I throw up my hands. Any ideas?
“To be sure, a lot of jurors might convict someone using evidence they really shouldn’t have considered, but a lot of jurors would, with the right defense arguments, quite properly refuse to go along with some of what the police would call “probable cause”.”
Probable cause could be verified by flipping on a head-mounted digital camera/sound recording system. Some towns are already testing that on their own. [Thank God.]
“Presently, when police seek a warrant there’s no way for the intended target to cross-examine them and uncover information that may show that their “probable cause” is a sham. For example, if police get a warrant based upon the fact that drug activity was observed in a house two months ago, but fail to disclose to the warrant judge that the person who occupied the property then was evicted and someone else moved in, a judge might not quash any evidence stemming from such a warrant, but a jury might be loath to accept it (if nothing else, because it would show such sloppy investigation by the officers involved that their conduct on the case would be untrustworthy).”
Interesting. Once again, the concern of planted “evidence”.
How many murder suspects were framed or falsely accused? A lot right? [Based on DNA testing.]