In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court established a "good faith" exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule. The exception allowed evidence to be used in a criminal case even if it was later found out that the search warrant was later invalidated so long as the police were acting in "good faith". As Reagan entered his second term the Republican held Senate proposed similar legislation, and he asked Congress to follow suit. President Reagan saw this as a way to fight violent crime and begin to restore American's trust in the legal system.
The application of the fourth amendment exclusionary rule to criminal law was established by the 1961 US Supreme Court decision of Mapp v. Ohio. Here the Supreme Court ruled that the use of evidence in a criminal trial was barred if was obtained pursuant to unlawful search and seizure as defined in the fourth amendment. The 1961 case extended the law that was originally applied to federal criminal prosecutions in 1914. The ruling was challenged by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1981 when they granted a wide ranging "good faith" exception allowing evidence to be included even if it the search and seizure was "mistaken or unauthorized” so long as it was “taken in a reasonable, good-faith belief that it was proper." In 1982, Reagan's Task force on Violent Crimes (Executive Order 12360) recommended that Congress pass similar legislation. According to a 1983 New York Times report, both Congress and Chief Justice Rehnquist were ready to throw out the exclusionary rule altogether. Reagan himself had asserted that the American people were losing faith in the legal system and were feeling threatened by the "explosion of violent crime". The legal system had become constrained by constitutional loopholes that seemed to apply more compassion to those who commit the crime over the actual victims of the crime.
Liberals on the other hand were fighting back against any exceptions to the exclusionary rule. One of the more relevant cases that tested the "good-faith" exception was Illinois v. Gates where the Illinois courts ruled that a letter obtained implicating a Bolingbrook couple in an elaborate marijuana transaction could not be used as evidence because the search warrant was obtained based on an anonymous tip and had no "probable cause". The Supreme Court overturned the Illinois courts stating that additional evidence collaborated with the letter and the totality of the evidence provided probable cause to get a warrant. This ruling provided some encouragement to those seeking a good-faith exception, however the courts declined to rule on the exclusionary rule leaving it unresolved. Then, in 1984, in United States v. Leon, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of establishing a "good faith" exception to the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule. In this case, police in Burbank, California began surveillance of the homes of suspected drug dealers. Based on their surveillance and information from two informants, a judge issued a search warrant. The police used the warrant to search for and gather evidence, but later the warrant was found to be invalid because the courts ruled that the police lacked probable cause in the first place. In the United States v. Leon case, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the United States allowing the evidence to be used in trial and thereby established a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.
After winning reelection in 1985 and gaining seats in the House, President Ronald Reagan wanted Congress to pass similar legislation. The Republican controlled Senate had already proposed such legislation, and Reagan was now asking the House to do the same. To that end, he shared these words in his 1985 State of the Union address:
"Of all the changes in the past 20 years, none has more threatened our sense of national well-being than the explosion of violent crime. One does not have to be attacked to be a victim. The woman who must run to her car after shopping at night is a victim. The couple draping their door with locks and chains are victims; as is the tired, decent cleaning woman who can't ride a subway home without being afraid.
We do not seek to violate the rights of defendants. But shouldn't we feel more compassion for the victims of crime than for those who commit crime? For the first time in 20 years, the crime index has fallen 2 years in a row. We've convicted over 7,400 drug offenders and put them, as well as leaders of organized crime, behind bars in record numbers.
But we must do more. I urge the House to follow the Senate and enact proposals permitting use of all reliable evidence that police officers acquire in good faith. These proposals would also reform the habeas corpus laws and allow, in keeping with the will of the overwhelming majority of Americans, the use of the death penalty where necessary.
There can be no economic revival in ghettos when the most violent among us are allowed to roam free. It's time we restored domestic tranquility. And we mean to do just that."
The Congress did not act to pass any such legislation during Reagan's term. A bill was passed in the house in 1995, but only made it to committee in 1995. Nevertheless, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the good faith exception in court cases such as Arizona v. Evans and is now considered established legal doctrine.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. 2021. Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: <https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-before-joint-session-the-congress-the-state-the-union-5> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
2021. S.B. 26: FIRST ANALYSIS - EXCLUSIONARY RULE EXCEPTIONS. [online] Available at: <http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/1995-1996/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/1995-SFA-0026-A.pdf> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
LII / Legal Information Institute. 2021. Exclusionary Rule. [online] Available at: <https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exclusionary_rule> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
Nytimes.com. 2021. Exclusionary-Rule Fight Moves to Supreme Court (Published 1983). [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/us/exclusionary-rule-fight-moves-to-supreme-court.html> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
Nytimes.com. 2021. Opinion | IN THE NATION; Attack On the Fourth (Published 1983). [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/04/opinion/in-the-nation-attack-on-the-fourth.html> [Accessed 2 November 2021].
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