In the real world, I believe that Dripps’ Contingent Exclusionary Rule would be very effective, as police departments often do not have the funding, or the desires, to continuously pay monetary damages and fines for procuring tainted evidence during investigations. In Dripps’ proposed Contingent Exclusionary Rule, the original exclusionary rule is combined with a remedy that is based around monetary damages and collections that are usually associated with tort claims (Gonchap, M., 2014). According to Gonchap (2014), the gist of this proposal is that courts should try utilizing suppression orders that rely upon the failure of police departments to pay court issued damages.
Knowing the basis of this concept, my position is framed around the concept that, as public service agencies, police departments are not able to spend the funds required to defend themselves during monetary damages cases and, if necessary, pay monetary fines that are levied upon them by court orders. Dripps’ model is very compatible with restorative justice as it focuses on protecting the constitutional rights of those being prosecuted and deterring police departments and prosecutors from utilizing possibly conclusive evidence that was procured in an unlawful or unconstitutional manner.
In scripture, it is said in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In a legal scenario, it is understood that offenders have wronged the community by committing the crime(s) that they are being accused of. However, it does not make moral or practical sense to break multiple federal laws in order to handle a local level infraction. In restorative justice, the harm done to individuals is more important than the particular laws broken (Restorative Justice, n.d.).When police departments seize evidence unlawfully, they are showing that they do not believe in those principles.
- Gonchap, M. (2014). Article Critique A Proposal for Exclusionary Rule Reform. Legal Issues. Retrieved from http://legal-ethical-issues.blogspot.com/2014/11/article-critique-proposal-for.html?m=0 Accessed 20 July, 2017
- (n.d.). Restorative Justice. The Free Dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/restorative+justice Accessed 20 July, 2017
