John Doolittle: “Mr. Chairman, in listening to the comments of some Members here as ardent defenders of the Constitution, and we heard…”

“Mr. Chairman, in listening to the comments of some Members here as ardent defenders of the Constitution, and we heard the Founders invoked, one would think the exclusionary rule is written into the Constitution. Yet I challenge anyone to show me where in the Constitution that exists, because in point of fact it does not exist. It was a creature of the court beginning in 1914 and applicable to the actions of the Federal Government, and it was not until I believe 1964 in the infamous Miranda case that it was applied to State and local agencies. It was simply an example of judicial legislation, the type that has done such great violence to the Constitution that we should all revere. Mr. Chairman, I strongly believe in the Constitution, and I believe that this creation, the exclusionary rule, has subjected innocent men, women, and children to be the victims of crimes, and the perpetrators of those crimes have gone free in some instances because of the doctrine of the exclusionary rule. When violent crimes and homicides have shot up hundreds of percent since 1960, it is time that we, the people's representatives, set a proper balance, and that balance is the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. Mr. Chairman, I urge the defeat of this amendment.”