Under the Fourth Amendment, what is true about evidence obtained through an unlawful search?

• A. It can be used in court
• B. It cannot be used to prove guilt
• C. It must be destroyed
• D. It can be used to impeach a witness but not prove guilt

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is the exclusionary rule under the Fourth Amendment. When evidence is gathered through an unlawful search or seizure, it is generally not allowed to be used in court to prove the defendant’s guilt. This rule protects peoples’ privacy and discourages illegal police conduct by suppressing improperly obtained evidence. So, in a criminal case, that unlawfully obtained evidence cannot serve as substantive proof of guilt.

There are narrow contexts where illegally obtained evidence might come up for purposes other than proving guilt, such as affecting credibility if a witness testifies, but its role as direct proof of guilt is barred by the exclusionary rule.