[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LET LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS DO THEIR JOB

  (Mr. LAZIO of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, last week in New York, a Federal 
judge threw out key evidence that would prove a defendant guilty of 
Federal drug charges. The defendant had over 4 million dollars' worth 
of cocaine and heroine in her car, and voluntarily confessed on 
videotape that she had made the trip over 20 times to pick up drugs. 
The arresting officers witnessed four men putting duffle bags into the 
trunk of her car at 5 a.m. in the morning. They did not speak to her, 
and then fled the scene when spotted. Unbelievably however, the judge 
decided that the police had no cause to be suspicious. Even the New 
York Times called the judge's reasoning, tortured.
  It is absolutely incredible that this case was dismissed, and the 
defendant will go unpunished due to a technicality, which would be 
corrected if the Exclusionary Rule Reform Act was in effect. Last 
February the House passed this bill, which extends the exclusionary 
rule's good faith exception to warrantless searches. If the police have 
a reasonable good faith belief that a drug crime is occurring, as in 
this case, common sense should dictate that they be allowed to act 
accordingly.
  As a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney, I have seen 
firsthand the effects of drugs on our communities. It is about time we 
let our law enforcement officials do their job without tying their 
hands. We need this bill to become law so we can avoid such outrageous 
situations in the future.

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