Mapp v. Ohio

Mapp v. Ohio was a Supreme Court Case that was a instrumental turning point in our nation's history. It drastically changed our legal system, and gave us the exclusionary rule, which in turn changed the way prosecution of a criminal is performed. The exclusionary rule is a very important ruling that was adopted by the courts to stop police from conducting illegal search and seizures. The results in the case of Mapp v. Ohio gave the people of the United States a judicial remedy that is imposed by the courts to deter violations of constitutional rights. To enforce the Fourth Amendment we rely on the exclusionary rule, first adopted by the Supreme Court in 1914 in Weeks v. United States, and applied to the states in 1961 in Mapp v. Ohio.

On May 23rd, 1957, three Cleveland police officers arrived at Dolly Mapp's home. They had reason to believe that gambling paraphernalia and a possible bombing suspect that was wanted for questioning had been hiding in her home.

English: View of Capitol Hill from the U.S. Suprem...

English: United States Supreme Court building in W...

The United States Supreme Court.

The officers knocked on the door and demanded to enter the home without a search warrant, but Mapp immediately telephoned her attorney and with his advice refused them enterance. Three hours later, additional police officers arrived to the scene. They knocked on the door but Mapp did not respond immediately. The officers then forcibly entered the home by knocking down one of the several doors. By this time Mapps attorney had arrived at the scene and they both demanded to see a warrant, but an officer showed them a blank piece of paper that he claimed to be a warrant. Aggravated with the situation, Mapp took the warrant and shoved it down the bosom of her pants. The officers arrested her on an account she was "belligerent" and "rude". While Mapp...