In the Supreme Court of the United States, it was decided today that evidence obtained in a search was still valid, despite the undisputed fact that a clerical error on the part of the police led to the erroneous belief on the part of police that they had probable cause to conduct the search from which the evidence was seized.
The decision went 5-4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr writing for the majority, “When police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, the exclusionary rule does not apply.”
