Good-faith exception

In United States constitutional law, the good-faith exception (also good-faith doctrine) is a legal doctrine providing an exemption to the exclusionary rule.

The exemption allows evidence collected in violation of privacy rights as interpreted from the Fourth Amendment to be admitted at trial if police officers acting in good faith (bona fides) relied upon a defective search warrant — that is, they had reason to believe their actions were legal (measured under the reasonable person test).