Which case extended the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures to the states and upheld the Exclusionary Rule?

Which case extended the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures to the states and upheld the Exclusionary Rule?

• A. Mapp v. Ohio
• B. Engel v. Vitale
• C. Gideon v. Wainwright
• D. New York Times v. Sullivan

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that constitutional protections can be extended to state actions through incorporation. Weeks v. United States had established the Exclusionary Rule for federal prosecutions, but there was no binding rule for how it applied to state governments. In Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Exclusionary Rule, apply to the states via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That means evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in state courts, just as it isn’t admissible in federal courts. The other listed cases focus on different issues—school prayer, right to counsel, and freedom of the press—so they do not address extending Fourth Amendment protections or the Exclusionary Rule to the states.

The key idea here is that constitutional protections can be extended to state actions through incorporation. Weeks v. United States had established the Exclusionary Rule for federal prosecutions, but there was no binding rule for how it applied to state governments. In Mapp v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Exclusionary Rule, apply to the states via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That means evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in state courts, just as it isn’t admissible in federal courts. The other listed cases focus on different issues—school prayer, right to counsel, and freedom of the press—so they do not address extending Fourth Amendment protections or the Exclusionary Rule to the states.