exclusionary rule
noun
: a legal rule that bars unlawfully obtained evidence from being used in court proceedings
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web For example, the American Civil Liberties Union was successful convincing the court to apply the exclusionary rule to the states in Mapp v. Ohio in 1961. 
Paul M. Collins, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2020 Subsequently, conservative Supreme Court justices have followed conservative groups’ arguments by carving out numerous exceptions to the exclusionary rule. Paul M. Collins, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2020 Under a principle known as the exclusionary rule, evidence uncovered using an invalid search warrant is excluded from trial. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2020 The law allows a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule in some cases where police rely on a warrant that later proves defective. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2020 In 2009, four years after Rehnquist died, the court did not overturn the exclusionary rule but came close. David G. Savage, latimes.com, 11 July 2018 Unless, of course, the left can nullify the exclusionary rule. WSJ, 17 Apr. 2018 The court further holds that there is no basis not to apply the exclusionary rule in this case. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 9 Mar. 2018 See More
Paul M. Collins, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2020 Subsequently, conservative Supreme Court justices have followed conservative groups’ arguments by carving out numerous exceptions to the exclusionary rule. Paul M. Collins, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2020 Under a principle known as the exclusionary rule, evidence uncovered using an invalid search warrant is excluded from trial. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2020 The law allows a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule in some cases where police rely on a warrant that later proves defective. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2020 In 2009, four years after Rehnquist died, the court did not overturn the exclusionary rule but came close. David G. Savage, latimes.com, 11 July 2018 Unless, of course, the left can nullify the exclusionary rule. WSJ, 17 Apr. 2018 The court further holds that there is no basis not to apply the exclusionary rule in this case. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 9 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1938, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
exclusionary rule
noun
: any of various rules that exclude or suppress evidence
specifically : a rule of evidence that excludes or suppresses evidence obtained in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights see also fruit of the poisonous tree, good faith exception, Mapp v. Ohio and Wong Sun v. United States
Note: The U.S. Supreme Court established the rule that evidence gathered by a governmental agent in violation of especially the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution cannot be admitted against a defendant. The rule is available primarily in criminal trials or quasi-criminal proceedings (as punitive administrative hearings) and must also be observed by state courts. There are various statutory exclusionary rules in addition to the rule established by the Supreme Court.