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EXCLUSIONARY RULE

1 definition found across Law Mind sources

exclusionary rulenoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributors (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exclusionary_rule#English) • CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) • via Kaikki (https://kaikki.org/dictionary/English/)
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A doctrine which requires that evidence obtained as the result of an illegal act on the part of law enforcement personnel (such as a warrantless search, or continued questioning a witness who has invoked the right of counsel) must therefore be excluded from being admitted as evidence in a trial. This rule does not apply in civil proceedings, although statutes sometime specifically provide for exclusion of such evidence.

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