News In Brief
| Washington
Illegal-alien cases ruled outside exclusionary rule
The Supreme Court held Thursday that the exclusionary rule, which prohibits use of tainted evidence in a criminal trial, does not apply to a hearing on whether an illegal alien should be deported.
''Important as it is to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all persons (against unreasonable search and seizure), there is no convincing indication that application of the exclusionary rule in civil deportation proceedings will contribute materially to that end,'' Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in a 5 -to-4 decision.
Noting the Immigration and Naturalization Service apprehends more than 1 million deportable aliens per year, the majority opinion added, ''the officers cannot be expected to compile elaborate, contemporaneous, written reports detailing the circumstances of every arrest.''
(For further Supreme Court decision, see story on Page 1.)
