People State New York v. Edward Mcgrath

Today, this court finds itself engaged in the not altogether foreign task of attempting to demarcate the seemingly inexhaustible reach of the exclusionary rule. More specifically, in the first of two cases, People v McGrath, the question presented is whether in a criminal contempt proceeding the Fourth Amendment requires suppression of a defendants testimony before the Grand Jury as the fruit of an illegal wiretap. In the companion case, Matter of Mancini v Codd, the issue posed is whether, in a civil disciplinary proceeding in which a policeman is charged with perjury, the Fourth Amendment requires the suppression of his testimony before the Grand Jury, as well as the testimony of witnesses at the subsequent disciplinary hearing, as fruit of an illegal wiretap.