Flashcards Studio

During the execution of a warrant for illegal possession of unregistered cultural artifacts at a private art gallery, the arrest team enters at 1:45 a.m. The team leader’s body-worn camera is activated before entry and records the doorway; a second officer’s BWCs fail to activate at the crucial moment of entry due to a drained battery and are only turned on after the doorway has been breached. A scuffle ensues, and several artifacts and a substantial sum of cash are seized. A civilian security camera at the gallery captured the entry, but the police do not obtain or produce that footage. The defense moves to suppress the seized artifacts and cash on the ground that the team did not fully comply with A.M. No. 21-06-08-SC (Rules on the Use of Body-worn Cameras in the Execution of Warrants). (a) Identify the governing doctrine/rule and state whether non-activation or late activation of BWCs impacts the admissibility of evidence obtained during the search. (b) Distinguish whether any non-compliance with the BWCs guidelines can lead to suppression of evidence or only administrative consequences. (c) Apply the rule to the facts: should the artifacts and cash be admitted or suppressed, and why?