ABSTRACT
In United States v. Leon, 468 US 897, the US Supreme Court tackled the difficult question of whether evidence resulting from a faulty search warrant should be admissible in a criminal trial if the police officer obtained the warrant in good faith. The court of appeals affirmed the exclusion of the evidence, but the Supreme Court chose to review the case to decide the question of whether a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule should be recognized. The Leon case carved out a significant exception to the exclusionary rule, which had been interpreted as a constitutional protection by the Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 US 643. Justice White declared that in deciding whether the exclusionary rule should be imposed in a case as a deterrent to police misconduct, courts must weigh the costs and benefits of denying the admission of the evidence.
