Proving the Lie: Litigating Police Credibility

Abstract

This essay proposes a wider scope for a somewhat timeworn discussion - specifically, that police mendacity and the need to deter this form of police misconduct go to the very heart of our criminal justice system and the need for trust in government and its processes, of which search and seizure law and practice is only a small part. Being only a part of a much larger systemic societal problem, tinkering with search and seizure law and process alone will not heighten the police witness' respect for the oath.