I agree ... but as long as exclusion of evidence is the prescribed way to handle illegal searches, they must all be done that way. I've heard no probable cause cited for this search.
Certainly true - it's the only way to protect the integrity of the intent of law presently.
I've heard no probable cause cited for this search
Nor have I. My best guess is that it was a field interview / stop and frisk situation that evolved into an arrest followed by a search subsequent to a lawful apprehension. There is not enough information presented in the story to make a very educated argument... But, one point that does alarm me a little is that it appears the main point of contention is the original 'stop'. It appears to be argued that if the perps were not black they wouldn't have ever been stopped in the first place, thus everything following that is tainted. I think we have to be careful of not allowing the probable cause rule to expand to overcome the reasonable belief rule; which this case may be setting a precedent for.
I really wish we knew the whole story so we could analyze it better and decide if the police botched it or if the defense just did a good job clouding the issue with a human rights violation card...