Or so my mother taught me. But neither etiquette, nor Constitution, nor legal precedent, shall bind the hands of law enforcement. The Supreme Court that Bush built has decreed that violating that pesky Fourth Amendment should not stand in the way of evidence gathering.
Drugs or other evidence seized at a home can be used in a trial even if police failed to knock and announce their presence, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a major shift in its rulings on illegal searches by police.
The 5-4 decision in a Detroit drug case undercuts a nearly century-old rule that says evidence found during an unlawful search cannot be used. The decision also offers a sign that the court might be more apt to strengthen the hand of police with Justice Samuel Alito in the place of retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Yes, the Bush appointee that Senate Democrats cravenly rubber-stamped most recently has tilted the court in a direction some call "conservative" but would be more fairly described as "fascistic."
The libertarian Cato Institute also denounced the ruling. "Because of today's decision, we can expect to see an even more pronounced increase in the use of illegal, military-style no-knock raids," Cato policy analyst Radley Balko said.
It only gets worse from here, folks. We'll all be Mr. Buttles soon enough.
2 comments:
Oh goodness. Why ever would I mind?
Brazil is one of my faves and probably Gilliam's best. But you can take any dystopian work and draw the necessary parallels. It even makes a fun party game. Try it. You'll see.
Simon, It's called "post big orange stress disorder." It makes people hyper-vigilant, self-censoring, and terrified of being banned. It can also cause night terrors, but that's only in extreme cases.
I read your diary on BT after someone named Carrie tipped me to it last night. Excellent diary. Thanks for the link.
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