Waubonsee Community College

Mapp v. Ohio, guarding against unreasonable searches and seizures, Carolyn N. Long

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-219) and index

index present

non fiction

Mapp v. Ohio

bibliography

62858050

Carolyn N. Long

Landmark law cases & American society

guarding against unreasonable searches and seizures

Although she came to be known as merely "that girl with the dirty books," Dollree Mapp was a poor but proud black woman who defied a predominantly white police force by challenging the legality of its search-and-seizure methods. Her case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, remains hotly debated and highly controversial today. In 1957, Cleveland police raided Mapp's home on a tip-from future fight promoter Don "the Kid" King-that they'd find evidence linked to a recent bombing. What they confiscated instead was sexually explicit material that led to Mapp's conviction for possessing "lewd and lascivious books"--A conviction that initially pitted Ohio police and judges against Mapp and the American Civil Liberties Union. At stake was not only the search-and-seizure question but also the "exclusionary rule" concerning the use of evidence not specified in a search warrant. Carolyn Long follows the police raid into Mapp's home and then chronicles the events that led to the Court's 5-4 ruling in Mapp v. Ohio (1961), which redefined the rights of the accused and set strict limits on how police could obtain and use evidence. Long traces the case through the legal labyrinth, discusses the controversies it created, and assesses its impact on police behavior, as well as subsequent prosecutions and convictions of the accused. She also analyzes Justice Tom Clark's creative use of Mapp's case to overturn Wolf v. Colorado, which had ruled that the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches applied only to federal law, and presents Justice John Harlan's strong federalist-based dissent

The Ohio battle -- The history of the Fourth Amendment and the federal exclusionary rule -- One final appeal -- The Supreme Court deliberates -- Mapp goes public -- "Is the criminal to go free because the constable has blundered?" -- The Warren court's criminal procedure revolution and the political aftermath -- The judicial and political effort to undermine Mapp v. Ohio and the future of the exclusionary rule

Mapp versus Ohio