The Exclusionary Rule Revisited

Authors

Nuno GaroupaFollow
Murat C. MunganFollow

Start Page

209

Abstract

We revisit the economic theory of exclusionary rules. First, we show that more exclusion may induce enforcers to conduct more searches, contrary to the standard notion that more exclusion leads to fewer searches. Second, we identify and investigate the complexities that arise when enforcers may harass suspects (imposing significant costs without legal proceedings) instead of conducting legal searches. If one attempts to choose the optimal exclusionary rule naively (for example, by ignoring the possibility of harassment by enforcers), the chosen rule will exclude evidence more often than is optimal. We explore social welfare considerations and discuss policy implications based on our formal results.

Recommended Citation

Garoupa, Nuno and Mungan, Murat C. (2022) "The Exclusionary Rule Revisited," Journal of Legal Studies: Vol. 51: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jls/vol51/iss1/7