Conclusion

Great attention is paid to the Fourth Amendment's failure to meaningfully police the police. But the amendment (as currently interpreted by the Court) also is failing to police the prosecution. In a criminal justice system dominated by pleas, the refusal to suppress evidence is a factor that exponentially enhances the prosecutor's relative standing. Where that prosecutorial power is already being exercised in ways that disadvantage people of color, the further increase in power is an outcome we cannot continue to overlook.

Renée Mcdonald Hutchins teaches at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, where she also co-directs the school's nationally ranked Clinical Law Program.