What is the exclusionary rule?

• A. A rule that prohibits consideration of any evidence regardless of how obtained.
• B. A rule excluding evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights.
• C. A rule requiring all evidence to be relevant to the case.
• D. A rule about suppression of evidence in civil cases.

Answer: (B)

The exclusionary rule prevents evidence gathered in violation of a person’s constitutional rights from being used in a criminal trial. Its primary purpose is to deter misconduct by law enforcement and protect rights secured by the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures (and related protections during interrogation). In practice, if police obtain evidence through an illegal search or other constitutional violation, that evidence is typically not admissible at trial, helping to maintain the integrity of the judicial process. There are well-known exceptions, such as when officers acted in good faith on a defective warrant or when the evidence would have been discovered by independent means, but the core idea is to exclude illegally obtained items from criminal prosecutions. This rule is generally about criminal cases, not civil cases, and it’s not a blanket ban on all evidence or a test of relevance.