HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 5095 RESOLUTION NO . 5095
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
HUNTINGTON BEACH SUPPORTING SENATE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT NO. 7
WHEREAS, the "exclusionary rule" has complicated and negated
the work of police departments in confessions and admissions ,
search and seizure and use of evidence ; and
It appears that the California Supreme Court has ignored
the United States Supreme Court ; has expanded the exclusion of
evidence unreasonably; and has imposed its views on the people of
this state by judicial fiat, often by a bare majority of four
justices; and
In People vs. Cahan twenty-five years ago, the Supreme
Court promised workable rules governing searches and seizures
that would protect both the rights guaranteed by the United
States Constitution and the interests of society in suppressing
crime. However, no balance between these competing interests
has been achieved; only a system of justice heavily weighted in
favor of the criminal defendant; and
Cahan also promised that the exclusionary rule would not
be arbitrary in its application and would avoid needless limita-
tions on the right of the police to conduct reasonable searches
and seizures. Yet the exclusionary rule punishes good faith
police mistakes and minor intrusions into the individual ' s pri-
vacy with the same sanctions as are applied to intentional and
substantiated police misconduct ; and
In the twenty-five years since Cahan, our experience dictates
another change. Proposed Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 7
would not cure all the ills of our state' s criminal justice system,
but it would prevent the California Supreme Court from unilaterally
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extending the rights of a criminal defendant beyond those rights
guaranteed by the United States Constitution. When experimenta-
tion is desired, this amendment enables the California Legislature
in open public debates to determine what restrictions , if any,
should be placed upon the admission of evidence beyond those pro-
vided for in the United States Constitution,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the
of Huntington Beach does hereby support Senate Constitutional
Amendment No. 7 and urges the state legislature to place the
amendment on the June 1982 ballot for consideration by the voters
of the state.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach at a regular meeting thereof held on the 16th
day of� February_ 1982.
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I - —
Mayor
INITIATED AND APPROVED: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
f }
City Administrator City Attorney
ATTEST:
City Clerk
2.
Res. No. 5095
STATE OF CALIFORNIA. }
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss:
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH )
I, ALICIA M. WENTWORTH, the duly elected, qualified City
Clerk of the City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the
City Council of said City, do hereby certify that ,the whole number of
members of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach is seven;
that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the affirmative
vote of more than a majority of all the members of said City Council
at a regular meeting thereof held on the 16th day
of February 19 82 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen:
MacAllister, Pattinson, Finley, Mandic
NOES: Councilmen:
Thomas
ABSENT: Councilmen:
None
ABSTAINED Bailey, Kelly
City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk
of the City Council of the City
of Huntington Beach, California