"The stop was determined to be unreasonable, not unlawful."
Last I checked my constitution, unreasonable stops/searches/seizures actually are unlawful. And if that is unlawful, the entire chain of events that follow from it are also unlawful.
"The dope found was not found on Swindle, remember he chucked it out of his window while driving."
You may have a point here. If it can be established independently of the stop that this bag of contraband was in fact thrown from the vehicle seperate and apart from the illegal stop, then there is a case. I'm not so certain that is what transpired, however. It sounds to me like the smart thing for Swindle to have done would have been to have kept it on his person, at which time it really should have been suppressed. Of course, he had no idea that the stop was in fact illegal, so I guess he figured he had nothing to lose.
All of which has nothing to do with the arguments being made by some here, that illegally obtained evidence is still somehow admissable.
"Like what? When a bailbondsman kicks in a door to arrest a violator?"
Bad analogy. The constitutional protections that we take for granted do not apply to bail bondsmen, who are private operators and have pre-signed contractual waivers that allow them to do just that. Such constitutional guarantees are limited to protecting people from the government.
"Teachers searching lockers in school without the students' consent?"
You have a point here. Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because they get away with it doesn't make it right.
"Store security guards going through your packages?"
They are private employees, not government agents. They are not bound by constitutional guarantees. Because they are employees of the landowners, they have "property ownership" rights to do exactly that.
"Your mechanic turing over a kilo of cocaine that he found under your seat?"
That is entirely within his rights. You implicity gave your permission to look over the vehicle, so there is no tresspass. Again, he is not a government agent. He can, however call a government body, which can start the ball rolling on legal prosecution. They could start surveilance.
"The maid taking a picture of the pot plant growing in your basement?"
She is not a LEO, so her taking a picture of the plant is not covered by the constitution. If she were to turn this picture over to the authorities, they would have grounds to begin surveilance. If the authorities were to break into the house without cause or warrant, such a picture would be inadmissable. She has the right to be there and be looking around as implied terms of her employment.
"I'd be willing to subject a police officers to civil sanctions when a court determines that the search was unconstitutional. Same goes for criminal if the court determines that the search or seizure was malicious even IF there was a conviction. Whether or not there was a conviction has nothing to do with it."
Correct. So would I.
"I don't thing many people here can speak for the "average citizen". Then again, maybe it's a regional thing. I live just outside Detroit. I'm pretty sure that the average citizen here would be perfectly content to get rid of the exclusionary rule and go with my system. Maybe they'll name the next rule after me..."
A> I'm about as average of a citizen as they come. And rhetoric like what you have been giving is just plain SCARY. There's nothing reassuring about "The Ends Justify The Means", that the constitution does not really mean what it says, and that there's some implied standard that says that we have to allow the police to bend the rules. Terrifying Police State Logic. That's what it is.
B> I can't say about the regionalities, but I might be able to attribute it to the political landscape. I would expect much more tolerance for your viewpoint in "Blue America" than I would in "Red America", for various reasons I'm not going to go into here at this time. Suffice it to say that the logic you bring may be winked at in Fulton Co. and DeKalb Co (Atlanta proper, blue), but not here in Cobb Co (just outside of Atlanta, suburban, red). In this part of town, there is a general healthy mistrust of government in general. As it should be.
