Report On The Backyard Of Damien Echols Backyard

The bottom-line, up-front is that evidence found in the backyard of Damien Echols’ backyard; specifically , the wooden box found near the shed, should be suppressed because of the negligence of law enforcement officials in respecting the Fourth Amendment rights of Mr. Damien Echols. 2. This suppression of evidence is a result of the negligent police actions that took place one week from 08 June 1993 near and on the residence of Mr. Damien Echols. The events began with anonymous tip to the Arkansas Police Department that stated Mr. Echols held an unspecified piece of evidence pertaining to the murder of the three boys somewhere in his home. Following up on the anonymous tip a week later, Detective Ridges went to the residence of Mr.†¦show more content†¦3. The issue surrounding these circumstances is whether the search warrant given to police, which ultimately led to the discovery of the wooden box, was obtained using information gained illegally under an improper search of the Echols’ residence 4. The main set of rules that dictate the ruling in this situation stems from the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This amendment protects individuals from â€Å"unreasonable searches and seizures† from government employee or agent; or when they violate an individual’s expectation of privacy. The following cases serve as legal precedent for this case, elaborating further on the application of the Fourth Amendment in criminal cases, which are relevant to this case: a. Katz v. United States (1) This case established the criteria required for establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy. The Court stated that for one two establish a reasonable expectation of privacy, one must: (a) That a person have exhibited an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy, and (b) That the expectation be one that society is prepared to recognize as â€Å"reasonable† b. Jardines v. Florida (1) This case established the legal precedent for using police dogs, concluding that â€Å"[t]he government’s use of trained police dogs to investigate the home and its immediate surroundings is a â€Å"search† within the meaning of