Mapp v Ohio
Mapp v. Ohio (1962)
i. Plaintiff, Dollree Mapp, was illegally raided by Cleveland police. After receiving information that an individual, wanted in connection with a recent bombing, was hiding in Mapp's house, the Cleveland police knocked on her door and demanded entrance. On the other hand, the defendant was the state of Ohio. The police were looking for a bombing suspect and during the search found a gun and obscene literature. ii. On May 23, 1957, police officers in Cleveland, Ohio believed that a suspect in a bombing, as well as some illegal gambling equipment, might be found in the home of Dollree Mapp. Officers went to the home and asked for permission to enter, but Mapp refused them without a search warrant. Three hours later, the two returned with several other officers. Showing off a piece of paper, they broke in the door. Mapp asked to see the “warrant” and took it from an officer, putting it in her dress. The officers struggled to take it away from Mapp and snatched the piece of paper away from her. They then handcuffed her. The 4th Amendment protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures” and the “nationalization” of the Bill of Rights under the 14th Amendment was questioned before the Court. The illegal search in Mapp’s home and whether the evidence was admissible was challenged by many. iii. For Mapp, the police, who possessed no warrant to search her property, had acted improperly. Any evidence found during the search should have been thrown out of court and her conviction overturned. For the state of Ohio, even if the search was made improperly, the State was not prevented from using the evidence seized because “the Fourteenth Amendment does not forbid the admission of evidence obtained by an unreasonable search and seizure.” Ohio argued that the 14th Amendment does not guarantee 4th Amendment protections in the State courts. iv. From 1961 to 1969, the Warren Court examined almost every detail of the criminal justice system in the U.S.,
i. Plaintiff, Dollree Mapp, was illegally raided by Cleveland police. After receiving information that an individual, wanted in connection with a recent bombing, was hiding in Mapp's house, the Cleveland police knocked on her door and demanded entrance. On the other hand, the defendant was the state of Ohio. The police were looking for a bombing suspect and during the search found a gun and obscene literature. ii. On May 23, 1957, police officers in Cleveland, Ohio believed that a suspect in a bombing, as well as some illegal gambling equipment, might be found in the home of Dollree Mapp. Officers went to the home and asked for permission to enter, but Mapp refused them without a search warrant. Three hours later, the two returned with several other officers. Showing off a piece of paper, they broke in the door. Mapp asked to see the “warrant” and took it from an officer, putting it in her dress. The officers struggled to take it away from Mapp and snatched the piece of paper away from her. They then handcuffed her. The 4th Amendment protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures” and the “nationalization” of the Bill of Rights under the 14th Amendment was questioned before the Court. The illegal search in Mapp’s home and whether the evidence was admissible was challenged by many. iii. For Mapp, the police, who possessed no warrant to search her property, had acted improperly. Any evidence found during the search should have been thrown out of court and her conviction overturned. For the state of Ohio, even if the search was made improperly, the State was not prevented from using the evidence seized because “the Fourteenth Amendment does not forbid the admission of evidence obtained by an unreasonable search and seizure.” Ohio argued that the 14th Amendment does not guarantee 4th Amendment protections in the State courts. iv. From 1961 to 1969, the Warren Court examined almost every detail of the criminal justice system in the U.S.,