Court to look at how evidence is obtained

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to decide if evidence should be excluded when police obtain it based on erroneous information from another police agency.

The high court has already ruled in 1984's United States vs. Leon that if evidence is obtained unconstitutionally -- if there was no "probable cause" to issue a warrant -- it still may be used by police if they acted in "good faith."

The case accepted by the court involves Bennie Dean Herring, who drove his pickup truck to the Coffee County, Ala., Sheriff's Department to check on another of his trucks that had been impounded.

A county investigator had reason to believe Herring was wanted on an outstanding warrant, and asked a warrant clerk to check the databases in Coffee County and neighboring Dale County. The neighboring county said it had an outstanding warrant, and Herring was arrested.

Coffee County police found methamphetamine in his pocket and a pistol under his truck seat. However, a call came back from Dale County saying its warrant had been withdrawn earlier.

Though Herring tried to suppress the evidence, he was convicted in Coffee County on drug and firearms charges and sentenced to 27 months.

A federal appeals court in Atlanta eventually ruled that if Dale County officials had a record of passing on erroneous information, then the evidence might be in doubt. Since Coffee County officials had reason to believe Dale County was reliable, the evidence was gathered in "good faith" and could be used.

A Supreme Court hearing should be held later this spring or early next fall.

(No. 07-513, Herring vs. United States)