Opinion ID: 2189753
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Federal Constitutional Argument.

Text: Kain urges that the exclusionary rule in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961), formulated under the fourth amendment and made applicable to the states under the fourteenth amendment, extends to any use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal adversarial setting. He views a probation revocation hearing as being such a setting and therefore urges that the exclusionary rule applies in that context. The plurality opinion in Mapp does suggest that, if evidence obtained in violation of a person's fourth amendment rights is thereafter used by the state against the penal interests of that person, such use is itself as violative of the fourth amendment as was the original search or seizure. Id. at 649, 81 S.Ct. at 1688, 6 L.Ed.2d at 1086. As the Mapp exclusionary rule has evolved, however, the Supreme Court has justified its continued existence not as a redress for the victim of the search or seizure but rather as a deterrent to constitutionally violative police conduct. See Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 486, 96 S.Ct. 3037, 3048, 49 L.Ed.2d 1067, 1083 (1976); United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 348, 94 S.Ct. 613, 620, 38 L.Ed.2d 561, 571 (1974). Most recently that Court has employed a cost-benefit analysis in grafting limitations on the application of the exclusionary rule, an approach which weighs the benefits of applying the rule against the resulting damage to societal interests. See, e.g., United States v. Leon, ___ U.S. ___, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) (evidence not excluded where officers reasonably relied upon invalid search warrant). When faced with the question involved in the present case, several United States courts of appeal have applied a cost-benefit analysis which considers the extent to which use of an exclusionary rule in probation revocation matters will result in an increased deterrence of illegal evidence gathering activities beyond that which is already provided by an exclusionary rule in criminal trials. The increased deterrent effect, if any, is then weighed against the resulting loss to efficient control of convicted criminals who are under the supervision of a probation officer. The application of this balancing test has, in most instances, resulted in approval of the use of illegally gathered evidence at probation revocation hearings. See United States v. Bazzano, 712 F.2d 826, 834 (3d Cir.1983), cert. denied, ____ U.S. ____, 104 S.Ct. 1439, 79 L.Ed.2d 760 (1984); United States v. Frederickson, 581 F.2d 711, 713 (8th Cir.1978); United States v. Winsett, 518 F.2d 51, 53-55 (9th Cir.1975); United States v. Farmer, 512 F.2d 160, 162-63 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 987, 96 S.Ct. 397, 46 L.Ed.2d 305 (1975); United States v. Brown, 488 F.2d 94, 95 (5th Cir.1973) (per curiam); United States v. Hill, 447 F.2d 817, 819 (7th Cir.1971); United States ex rel. Sperling v. Fitzpatrick, 426 F.2d 1161, 1163-64 (2d Cir.1970) (parole revocation). An exception to such conclusion is believed to exist where the evidence in question was gathered for the express purpose of influencing the revocation of probation. See United States v. Schipani, 435 F.2d 26, 28 (2d Cir.1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 983, 91 S.Ct. 1198, 28 L.Ed.2d 334 (1971). Clearly, that situation is not presented in the case now before us. The record is clear that the officers making the invalid investigatory stop had no information at that time concerning the identity of the occupants of the automobile. Typical of the reasoning of those federal courts permitting the use of illegally gathered evidence at probation revocation hearings is that of the ninth circuit in Winsett, 518 F.2d at 54-55: An important aspect of our probation system is the placing of certain restrictions on the probationer, such as the requirement that he not associate with criminals or travel outside the judicial district. These conditions serve a dual purpose in that they enhance the chance for rehabilitation while simultaneously affording society a measure of protection. Because violation of probation conditions may indicate that the probationer is not ready or is incapable of rehabilitation by integration into society, it is extremely important that all reliable evidence shedding light on the probationer's conduct be available during probation revocation proceedings. Consequently, to apply the exclusionary rule to probation revocation hearings would tend to frustrate the remedial purposes of the probation system. Not only would extension of the rule impede the court's attempt to assess a probationer's progress or regression, but also it would force probation officers to spend more of their time personally gathering admissible proof concerning those probationers who cannot or will not accept rehabilitation. (Footnote omitted.) We believe that the conclusions of those federal courts whose opinions we have cited represent the prevailing interpretation by which Kain's federal constitutional claim must be determined. Judged by this standard, his claim must fail.