Which court case was responsible for the exclusionary rule to be applied to state, county and local governments?

Which court case was responsible for the exclusionary rule to be applied to state, county and local governments?

• A. Wolfe v. Colorado
• B. Mapp v. Ohio
• C. Terry v. Ohio
• D. United States v. Leon

Answer: (B)

Extending the exclusionary rule to state, county, and local governments rests on applying the Fourth Amendment protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process principle. The pivotal ruling is Mapp v. Ohio, which held that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in state courts, thereby incorporating the rule to state prosecutions. This overturned Wolfe v. Colorado, which had allowed states to reject the exclusionary rule. The other two cases deal with different issues—Terry v. Ohio focuses on stop-and-frisk, and United States v. Leon discusses the good-faith exception—so they don’t establish the incorporation of the exclusionary rule.

Extending the exclusionary rule to state, county, and local governments rests on applying the Fourth Amendment protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process principle. The pivotal ruling is Mapp v. Ohio, which held that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in state courts, thereby incorporating the rule to state prosecutions. This overturned Wolfe v. Colorado, which had allowed states to reject the exclusionary rule. The other two cases deal with different issues—Terry v. Ohio focuses on stop-and-frisk, and United States v. Leon discusses the good-faith exception—so they don’t establish the incorporation of the exclusionary rule.