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# exclusionary rule

## noun

**:**a legal rule that bars unlawfully obtained evidence from being used in court proceedings

## Examples of *exclusionary rule* in a Sentence

*exclusionary rule*does not apply to mistakes made by the judicial officers who maintain the warrant databases regularly used by police officers making stops. —

*WIRED*, 14 Sep. 2023 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

## Word History

1938, in the meaning defined above

*exclusionary rule*was in 1938

## Dictionary Entries Near *exclusionary rule*

## Cite this Entry

“Exclusionary rule.” *Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary*, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exclusionary%20rule. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

## Legal Definition

exclusionary rule

noun**:**any of various rules that exclude or suppress evidence

**:**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.

## More from Merriam-Webster on *exclusionary rule*

Britannica English: Translation of *exclusionary rule* for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about *exclusionary rule*

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