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Mapp V. Ohio Case

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In the history of the justice system, there have been a number of famous cases. Perhaps, one of the most profound ones in this spectrum is the Mapp v Ohio case of 1961. It is important to point out that the case had a vast impact on criminal procedures in the United States of America, as a whole. Consequently, it bore great significance with regard to handling cases in which evidence is obtained through violations of the Fourth Amendment. Notably, the fourth Amendment protects citizens against unreasonable seizures and searches. In the light of the sentiment presented above, this paper discusses the circumstances that led to the case being heard in court. It explores the events that took place at each level of the case, the issues addressed …show more content…

However, when her attorney asked the officers about the search warrant that was used, they were unable to give an explanation. Despite this hiccup in the process of justice, Mapp was sentenced to 1 to 10 years in Ohio Women’s Reformatory. Unsatisfied with the course of justice, Mapp appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio. The focal point of her appeal was that she should have never been brought to court since the material incriminating her was obtained during an unwarranted and thereby illegal search. Her attorney insisted that since the search was unlawful, and the evidence obtained during that particular search needed to be thrown out of court. Given the strong argument by the attorney, the Supreme Court maintained that since the methods used to get the evidence upset the principles of justice, the conviction needed to be reversed. However, it was pointed out that the materials obtained were admissible as evidence (Stewart, 1983). All in all, the appeal was denied by the Supreme Court and the ruling was based on the explanation that the material was obtained from a trunk, which is an inanimate object, rather than forcibly from a …show more content…

First of all, the court needed to determine whether or not Mapp was guilty of possessing illegal pornographic material within the state boundaries of Ohio. The handling of this issue gave rise to a second cumbersome issue, which the court also needed to look into. The issue was determining whether it was right to convict a suspect based on evidence obtained using unlawful means. Notably, various judges involved in the case had their reasons for the opinions they held. For instance, Justices Black, Brennan, and Clark wanted to use the Mapp case to enable application of the exclusionary rule in all states (Dudley, 2012). Upon analyzing the arguments, on the whole, the outcome of the Mapp v Ohio case had a great impact on the work of law enforcement and the criminal system. It served to guard citizens against the unchecked power of the police. It is important to study the specifics of the case because they offer a framework for tackling modern day relatable cases (Dudley, 2012). It is, therefore, prudent to state that the Mapp v Ohio (1961) case improved the American justice

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