Wolf v. Colorado (1949)
General overview of the case-
A man named Julius Wolf was illegally searched and seized and was arrested with the evidence. In court he acclaimed that the evidence should not be used in his case since his fourth amendment right was broken.
General overview of the case-
A man named Julius Wolf was illegally searched and seized and was arrested with the evidence. In court he acclaimed that the evidence should not be used in his case since his fourth amendment right was broken.
Main argument for each side-
Wolf claimed that the evidence that was taken from him from the illegal search should not be used in his case because it was in violation of his fourth amendment right. List of the justices and how they voted-
Hugo Lafayette Black- Regular Concurrence Stanley Forman Reed-Majority Felix Frankfurter- Majority Robert Houghwout Jackson- Majority Harold Hitz Burton- Majority Fred Moore Vinson- Majority William Orville Douglas- Dissent Francis William Murphy- Dissent Wiley Blount Rutledge – Dissent |
Main majority opinion-
It didn't matter how they got the evidence as long as it was incriminating.
Main dissenting opinion-
Justice Wiley Rutledge filed a dissenting opinion. He rejected the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the mandate embodied in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, although binding on the States, does not carry with it the one sanction, exclusion of evidence. Failure to observe this means that the protection of the Fourth Amendment might as well be stricken from the Constitution. The Amendment without the sanction is a dead letter.
It didn't matter how they got the evidence as long as it was incriminating.
Main dissenting opinion-
Justice Wiley Rutledge filed a dissenting opinion. He rejected the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the mandate embodied in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, although binding on the States, does not carry with it the one sanction, exclusion of evidence. Failure to observe this means that the protection of the Fourth Amendment might as well be stricken from the Constitution. The Amendment without the sanction is a dead letter.