Standing to Suppress Evidence

From Criminal Defense Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

Background

In some jurisdictions an individual must have "standing" in order to challenge the admissibility of evidence that was illegally obtained.

Under the theory of standing, a defendant can only challenged the admissibility of the evidence if they have had their own Constitutional rights violated. Thus, if police execute an illegal search of the defendant's sister's house and obtain evidence against the defendant, the defendant may not challenge the admissibility of the evidence because it was the sister's rights (and not his own) who were violated.

This rationale ignores the fact that suppression of the evidence would still provide the deterrent effect that the rule is intended to provide.

Countries where Standing is required

United States

Standing is one of several justiciability doctrines that the United States Court has determined are required before a court can hear a case or a dispute.

Countries where Standing is not required

The standing requirement does not apply in the following country, which uses some variant of the exclusionary rule:

  • South Africa

See Exclusionary Rule