MAPP v. OHIO, 367 U.S. 643

Summary

It was apparent that the materials introduced into evidence in the prosecution of defendant were seized during an illegal search of defendant's residence in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Nevertheless, the state supreme court affirmed defendant's conviction for possessing lewd material in violation of Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2905.34 on the basis that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply in the state court prosecution of defendant for a state crime to forbid the admission of evidence obtained by an unreasonable search and seizure. On appeal, the Court reversed the state supreme court's decision. The Court held that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extended to the States the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. And, as necessary to ensure such rights, the exclusionary rule, which prohibited the introduction into evidence of material seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment, likewise applied to the State's prosecution of state crimes.