Davis v. United States (09-11328)
argument 09-11328Davis v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
57 min
7 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 5 days ago
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Transcript
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What is the central conflict between retroactivity and the good‑faith exception in Davis v. United States?
We'll hear argument first this morning in case zero nine eleven thirty two eight, Davis versus United States. Mr Kerr?
Thank you, Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the court. Uh this case raises the intersection of two similar doctrines of the same vintage that point in exactly opposite directions. The first retroactivity uh and the second the good faith exception. Uh this court should reverse and hold that the good faith exception does not apply to reliance on precedent, and instead that should be governed by the retroactivity principles of Griffith versus Kentucky. I think it's helpful to start with Link Letter versus Walker. The 1965 decision that introduced the concept of retroactivity. Linkletter held that Mapp versus Ohio, which had held that the exclusionary rule applied to state violations of the Fourth Amendment, is not retroactive.
The Linckletter decision was premised on a simple syllogism. The exclusionary rule is about deterrence, a decision that post-dates a search cannot deter the police, and therefore uh the exclusionary rule should not be available uh in cases before math. Uh link letter syllogism is the same syllogism that the court is attempting uh the sorry the government is attempting to rely on in this case. Uh history has shown that that syllogism is powerful in the context of collateral review and habeas corpus proceedings, uh but it should not apply on direct review. Uh it should not apply on direct review for two basic reasons. Uh first, because on direct review the first case must be treated like other cases on direct review, uh the uh exclusionary rule must be available in order to protect the adversary process uh and avoid advisory opinions.
Excuse me, I am um you you lose me in the argument because it doesn't seem to me that we if if we did apply the good faith rule we would be denying retroactive effect to the uh uh altered judgment. It it it continues to apply to uh uh matters beforehand, but it's a totally different question whether assuming it is retroactive the uh good faith exception to uh the uh exclusionary rule applies. It's a it's a s it's a separate question from retroactivity, it seems to me.
I I disagree, Justice Scalia. During the Lincoln period, the scope of the exclusionary rule for the Fourth Amendment was a an an essential concern in a series of retroactivity cases. Lincoln letter being the first Desist versus United States being the second, uh, there were many of the link letter era retroactivity cases were concerned with the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule.
Yeah, but just to per pursue Justice Scalia's point, the good faith rule is itself a rule that's intact, that's a precedent, that was on the books. And the good faith rule qualifies the exclusionary rule. So why aren't we just following the good faith rule here? There is nothing retroactive or prospective about it. It's just applying the existing law.
I disagree, Justice Kennedy. It's not applying existing law because the effect of what is labeled the good faith exception in this setting is actually to apply the prior decision. That is, to have all of the substance and effect of a retroactivity decision.
Well that's an application of the d th that's a subset. It's one application of an of uh the good faith rule which is an overall principle, but we're being faithful under the government's view, it seems to me, to the overall principle.
Uh uh I I think the court needs to take uh away the labels here. The government is using a label of good faith for what is essentially a retroactivity argument.
It it's not a label at all. You're w w w we're we're not denying. the application of the altered rule to your client's conduct. It applies. But the question of whether When it does apply. The good faith disregard of it by uh a police officer nonetheless allows the evidence to be admitted. It's a totally different we're we're giving full retroactive effect to to the change in the law.
Uh at the same time, Justice Scalia, whatever rule is applied in this case would have to be the same rule that applies in Gantt itself.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central conflict between retroactivity and the good‑faith exception in Davis v. United States?
0:01–7:11
2
How does the Court’s Linkletter precedent shape the retroactivity analysis?
7:11–14:41
3
Why do the Justices argue that the good‑faith exception should not be applied on direct review?
14:41–22:53
4
What role do deterrence and the exclusionary rule play in the government’s argument?
22:53–29:57
5
How do the Justices address the incentive problem for defense counsel under a new rule?
29:57–35:10
6
What is the significance of the Gantt and Belton decisions for this case?
35:10–41:57
7
How might a narrow good‑faith exception affect future Fourth Amendment litigation?
41:57–48:55
8
What are the potential costs and benefits of expanding or limiting the exclusionary rule here?
48:55–57:39