ABSTRACT
This paper begins with the premise that crime and the accompanying fear of crime undermine the safety and security of our society. Alabama has a history of conservatism, symbolized by its politics of rage in the form of former Governor George C. Wallace (Carter, 1995). Implicit in Alabama conservatism, fear of crime and ways of crime fighting appear to be lightning rods for political debate. “Law and order” are often code words for toughness on crime. The Alabama Legislature has often responded to constituency concerns with such initiatives as habitual offender legislation which allows life sentences for those persons with at least three prior felony convictions. Youthful status may be waived for capital offenses. The death penalty has been expanded to cover additional crimes such as drive-by killings, drug crimes involving murder, and gang-related killings. While there are many constitutional issues that have been raised in crime fighting, i.e., right to counsel, right to remain silent, equal protection, etc., the focus of this paper is on the Fourth Amendment issue of search and seizure. If there is a perception that police need more leeway to fight crime, one would expect a significant level of support for changes even if those changes weaken some of the protections via the Exclusionary Rule enumerated in Mapp v. Ohio (Kairys, 1993: 167-179).191
