Notes of Decisions
Exclusionary Rule
The application of the exclusionary rule was necessary and proper to proscribe a search such as the one conducted by this parole agent. In this case, the need to exclude the improperly obtained evidence outweighs the injury to the parole revocation process which would be caused by the exclusion. Scott v. Board of Probation and Parole, 668 A.2d 584 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995).
Search and Seizure
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the warrantless search of probationers or parolees’ residences based upon reasonable suspicion without the consent of the owner or without a statutory or regulatory framework governing the search. This is required because there are no safeguards to protect the limited Fourth Amendments rights of probationers and parolees if that supervision is left entirely to the discretion of individual parole officers. Scott v. Board of Probation and Parole, 668 A.2d 584 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995).
