Political Quotes

“the proposed Conyers amendment seeks to codify the 1984 Supreme Court decision in United States versus Leon, where the Court held that the exclusionary rule should not be used to bar evidence gathered by officers acting in a reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a magistrate but ultimately found to be improper. Although this amendment in and of itself dilutes the exclusionary rule, I support it for it does far less damage to fourth amendment rights than the bill before us and does not go further than what is already current Supreme Court case law. On the other hand, Mr. Chairman, the underlying bill is a radical departure from established precedent and would radically extend the permissibility of warrantless searches. It would allow evidence gathered from warrantless searches to be admitted. Indeed, the Leon court explicitly states that it strongly prefers searches with warrants to warrantless searches, because the process of obtaining a warrant, that process by itself provides safeguards against improper searches. Mr. Chairman, the fourth amendment allows the State to breach the individual's right to privacy only when the amendment's rules are followed.”