In this case at the Appellate Division, the question is not whether police violated the knock-and-announce requirement contained in a search warrant; they clearly did. The question is whether the exclusionary rule applies to that violation. Body cameras revealed that police entered a house without knocking and said “hello” rather than “police” as they walked in on a resident of the house who was napping without pants on.
The State is urging the court to adopt the United States Supreme Court’s rule that the exclusionary rule does not apply in cases such as this. Our brief reminds the court of New Jersey’s historic commitment to the exclusionary rule as a way to vindicate New Jerseyans’ rights and explains that other remedies – like civil suits – are insufficient to deter police misconduct.
