Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and the Constitution

Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and the Constitution 
Presented by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) 


The class will survey how the Constitution affects law enforcement and public safety. In particular, we will study how the Exclusionary Rule evolved to limit the use of evidence seized unlawfully by law enforcement officers under the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution and how those limitations have expanded and contracted periodically during the 20th and 21st centuries. These issues are particularly relevant in light of the prosecutions arising out of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. We will discuss who benefits from these Constitutional protections — those charged with crimes or the public who wants protections from crimes.